Foreign Affairs

Massive Explosion In The Caspian Sea Caused By Mud Volcano

No featured image available

A massive explosion near an oil field in the Caspian Sea on Sunday is believed to be the result of a mud volcano, Azəri-Press Agentliyi (APA) reported.

“The fireball was a major eruption of the Dashly Island (aka Ignatiy Stone Island) mud volcano! This mud volcano also had major eruptions in 1920 and 1945,” Mark Tingay, a geophysicist from the University of Adelaide in Australia, said in a tweet. Liveuamap provided a flyover visual of the island.

Azerbaijan is filled with mud volcanos, which result from the heating of water deep within the Earth. The water then mixes with rocks and minerals to create a slurry that is then forced up to the surface via fissures or cracks, according to CNET.

“No accidents occurred on the oil platforms or ships,” Gurban Yetirmishli, the director of Azerbaijan’s seismological service, told the APA news agency. “This is a sign of a mud volcano. There are many mud volcanoes in the Caspian Sea, one of which erupted.”

Not to be outdone by the Gulf of Mexico, there was a massive explosion in the Caspian Sea pic.twitter.com/JgxMkAmzUW

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 4, 2021

“There have been no accidents on offshore platforms and industrial facilities under the direct control of SOCAR, and work is continuing normally,” the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic told APA. No injuries have been reported.

The incident is the second explosion in recent weeks to draw international attention, after a pipeline burst Friday in the Gulf of Mexico, causing a raging inferno.