Would it occur to you that a lake could burst or even kill thousands?

Thousands of people and miles of wildlife died in Cameroon when the explosion at Lake Nyos on August 21, 1986. The explosion was driven by a deadly wave of gas released from the Earth’s mantle and accumulated at the bottom of the lake for hundreds of years.

A rock slide, landslide or volcanic activity in a lake releases 1.24 million tons of carbon dioxide. The surrounding gas can cause suffocation with hypoxia as well as being toxic. At such high concentrations, carbon dioxide can instantly knock a person unconscious and prevent them from breathing within a minute.

According to survivors of the disaster, the explosion started with a rumble, after which sparkling waters shot hundreds of meters into the air and blasted houses in a nearby village with a breeze. The released gas caused thousands of deaths and a huge white cloud formed over the water.

Unfortunately, the destruction did not stop there. The heavy cloud moved into a valley and made its way towards settlements 25 kilometers from where the explosion occurred, causing death wherever it went. Only those on high ground managed to avoid this disaster.

Scientists from around the world have joined forces in Cameroon to conduct research on the crater lake to understand how such a tragedy could unfold. They found that Lake Nyos, along with another nearby crater lake, is also unusual in that it contains layers rich in carbon dioxide. It was discovered that there was a continuous gradual seepage into the water at the bottom.

We now know that the Cameroon Volcanic Line is home to 43 such deep crater lakes, all of which have the potential to contain deadly volumes of toxic gas. It is stated that there may be similar lakes elsewhere in the world, for example in Italy, Tanzania, North America and Rwanda.

The weight of the water in the lake prevents the release of gas. However, a jolt or a breakdown causes the water not to do its protective function and the gas to be released. After this disaster in 1986, a similar eruption occurred at Lake Manoun, though with less damage.