Adventurer camps out by Turkmenistan's fiery 'Door to Hell'

Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A professional adventurer shared footage from his campsite at the edge of what locals in Turkmenistan dubbed the "Door to Hell."

Elliot, the traveler behind the Earth Nutshell blog, captured video of himself lounging with his feet up next to the massive crater, which has been filled with fire for the past 50 years.

"I camped beside this sinister inferno on a trip into the Karakum Desert and as you can see, it's a mesmerising sight after dark! If only I had some marshmallows..." Elliot wrote.

The fire inside the "Door to Hell," officially known as the Darvaza Gas Crater, is believed to be the result of a Soviet-era gas drilling accident, but there are no official records of the fire's origin.