A helicopter flying over Siberia photographed an enormous crater, of which it is unknown how it appeared. According to the data from the pilot's camera, the crater has a 262.5 ft (80 m) diameter.
Russian researchers confirmed the existence of the crater. It is located on the Yamal Peninsula, which is known as the End of the Land. Currently, scientists are investigating the find and the entire region around it.
The experts need to take samples from the crater in order to determine its origins. Besides from the soil, samples will be taken from the water and the air.
There are scattered chunks of soil around the crater, indicating evidence of an explosion. This made some of the eyewitnesses assume that a meteorite had impacted the area, but for now this theory is being shot down by the experts.
They claim that there is no way for a meteorite to hit Earth without being noticed.
Since Yamal is one of the richest territories of natural gas, the hypothesis of a gas explosion also appeared in the media, but this too remains unconfirmed.
For now the gas explosion version is not being completely denied since the inside of the crater clearly indicates some kind of fire.
"We can definitely say that it's not a meteorite but we still do not have details of exactly what it is, " announced a spokesperson from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The initial hypotheses of the scientists are drifting toward the idea that the crater is a natural phenomenon, known to science as a "Pingo" - it occurs when ice is thrust up from out of the earth.
This summer, mounds of melting ice had formed in the Siberian Yamal Peninsula. It is possible for these ice blocks to have exploded as a result of the pressure, leaving a huge crater in that place.
Fans of UFOs and extraterrestrials, saw an alien landing site in the crater.
Authorities in Moscow state that it's still too early to come out with a positive statement until the experts disclose the end results of their investigation.
The peninsula is located in northern Russia, and in the local dialect, Yamal means End of the Land.
Unusual phenomena in this region are nothing new, with large holes in the ground of unknown origins having appeared in the past as well.
