Photos: Omani cavers explore Yemen's 'Well of Hell'

Natural wonder is shunned by many locals, who believe it is a prison for genies

Last updated: September 24, 2021 | 12:40

2 MIN READ

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A team of Omani cavers has made what is believed to be the first descent to the bottom of Barhout well.

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It is a sinkhole known as the "Well of Hell" in the desert of Yemen's Al-Mahra province.

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One of the team's cavers abseiling down the Barhout well.

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The forbidding sinkhole, whose dark, round aperture creates a 30m. (100 feet) wide hole, plunges approximately 112m. (367 feet) below the surface.

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A sunbeam lighting up the Barhout well.

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The natural wonder is shunned by many locals, who believe it is a prison for genies.

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One of the team's cavers standing by a stalagmite at the bottom of the Barhout well.

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