In 1971, Soviet geologists were drilling for oil in the Karakum Desert near the village of Darvaza, Turkmenistan. They accidentally struck a massive pocket of natural gas, causing the ground to liquefy and the entire drilling rig to vanish into a 230 foot wide cavern. No one died in the initial collapse, but the escaping methane posed a lethal threat to nearby wildlife and the environment. To prevent a toxic disaster, the engineers made the fateful decision to ignite the pit, expecting it to bur