One of the most anticipated speakers at the International Scientific Conference "Environmental Aspects of Hydrocarbon Extraction" was the legendary Canadian explorer George Kurunis, who was nicknamed "the storm hunter" in the world press.

In 2013, George Kurunis, who led a special expedition, made an incredible experiment - he descended to the bottom of a gas crater in Darvaza, which has been spewing red flames day and night for more than half a century.

But it was not an adventurous trick of a lone extremist, but a purely scientific project. The expedition spent two years preparing for a deadly experiment for the sake of 17 minutes of the daredevil's stay in a fiery hell.

As a result of the project, it was concluded that “the expedition discovered several types of unknown microorganisms that live at the bottom of the crater and are able to survive in harsh conditions. Now this knowledge gives us clues as to where we can look for similar life forms on planets outside our Solar system.”

A man who devoted decades of his life to documenting the unbridled power of volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. in various parts of our planet, kindly agreed to answer our questions via video link.

Bekdurdy AMANSARIEV