Lake Nyos

At Lake Nyos, a crater lake in Cameroon, West Africa, more than 1,700 people were killed by a sudden release of carbon dioxide in August 1986. Scientists theorize that carbon dioxide of volcanic origin had been seeping into the lake, perhaps for centuries, and had accumulated…

…release of carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos in Cameroon on August 21, 1986. The disaster killed between 1,700 and 1,800 people.