The Mirror reports. The experts cited a build-up of pressure from methane gas in the thawing permafrost after a record hot summer in many Arctic regions across Russia.It is the 17th large cylindrical cavity to appear in the past six years, and previous craters have sparked conspiracy theories about everything from UFOs to Kremlin missile tests.Gas is released in soil that has been frozen for thousands of years but is now defrosting.
The new hole was initially spotted by chance from the air by a Vesti Yamal TV crew en route from an unrelated assignment in July.
A group of scientists then made an expedition to examine the large cylindrical crater estimated at up to 165ft deep.Scientist Dr Evgeny Chuvilin, a leading researcher at Skolkovo.
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