The Lake That Explodes and Kills Without Warning

It looks calm and serene—but one night, it silently killed over 1,700 people in seconds.

Lake Nyos in Cameroon holds a deadly secret. It’s one of only three known “exploding lakes” on Earth. In 1986, this volcanic crater lake suddenly released a cloud of carbon dioxide so dense it suffocated everything in its path. Entire villages died where they stood—no sound, no warning. Scientists later discovered that volcanic gases had been trapped under immense pressure at the lake’s bottom. When it finally erupted, the invisible CO₂ cloud—heavier than air—spread across the land, displacing oxygen and causing mass asphyxiation. The water didn’t even churn.

“It was like the angel of death had swept through. Not a single bird or fly was alive.”

~ Dr. Haraldur Sigurdsson, volcanologist on the first investigation team

“People were lying in their beds as if they had just fallen asleep. But they were all gone.”

~ Jean-Pierre Tchoua, local survivor

“This was one of the most unusual and catastrophic natural disasters we’ve ever documented.”

~ Dr. George Kling, University of Michigan limnologist

“We didn’t believe a lake could kill people without fire or flood. It changed how we see geology.”

~ Prof. Joseph Tanyileke, Cameroonian geochemist

“You can’t outrun gas that’s heavier than air. It hugs the ground and suffocates silently.”

~ Dr. Anja Schmidt, atmospheric scientist

Knock-on effect: After the disaster, engineers installed a degassing system—huge pipes that now vent the CO₂ safely into the air. The tragedy also led to the discovery of similar dangers at other lakes, like Lake Kivu, near a population of over two million. If it explodes, the death toll could be apocalyptic. Thanks to Lake Nyos, we’re now racing to stop invisible disasters before they strike.