According to Yemen official “It’s very deep – we’ve never reached the bottom of this well, as there’s little oxygen and no ventilation,” said Salah Babhair, director-general of Mahra’s geological survey and mineral resources authority.
“We have gone to visit the area and entered the well, reaching more than 50-60 metres down into it. We noticed strange things inside. We also smelt something strange … It’s a mysterious situation.”
Sunlight doesn’t extend far into the structure, and little can be seen from the edge except the birds that fly in and out of its depths.
Videographers seeking close-ups of the inside of the well have said they are almost impossible to capture – local superstition has it that objects near the hole can be sucked towards it.
Mr Babhair said that the well was “millions and millions” of years old.
“These places require more study, research and investigation,” he said.
Over the centuries, stories have circulated of malign, supernatural figures known as jinns or genies living in the well.
Many local residents remain uneasy about visiting the vast hole, or even talking about it, for fear of ill fortune from a chasm which, legend has it, threatens life on Earth itself.
Yemenis have had enough bad luck as it is.
The country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014 between the government and the Houthi rebels.
The United Nations says Yemen is suffering the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands killed, millions displaced and two-thirds of its 30-million population dependent on some form of aid.
