The fire occurred about 6 miles from the Umid gas field, south of Baku, the Azerbaijani capital.
No injuries have been reported.
It’s the second time in two days a fiery water incident has been detailed.
On Sunday, “the ocean is on fire again"echoed throughout the Twittersphere.
(The Caspian Sea is an inland sea so… okay, let’s not get into it.)
This explosion seems to be natural.
Speaking to the APA, Azerbaijani seismologist Gurban Yetirmishli suggests the fire is indicative of a mud volcano.
This wouldn’t be a surprise: The region is home to hundreds of mud volcanoes.
Liketheir more familiar, lava-filled cousins, sometimes mud volcanoes erupt.
But what are they and how can they catch fire?
What is a mud volcano?
That means they’re not exactlyrealvolcanoes (but let’s not get into that debate).
When they erupt, the oil and gas – flammable substances – spew into the sky with the mud.
By Monday morning, confirmation came in the form of a flyover:
UPDATE: Confirmation!!
Update July 5: Adds confirmation about mud volcano at Dashly Island
