'An invisible avalanche': what happened in Cameroon's 1986 Lake Nyos disaster?
- On 21 August, 1986, 1,746 people died from carbon dioxide poisoning after gas escaped overnight from the bottom of Lake Nyos in Cameroon.
- RFI examines what happened in the world's deadliest "limnic eruption" and how, 40 years later, our understanding of the danger posed by volcanic lakes is still evolving.
- Issued on: 21/08/2026 - 16:47 3 min Reading time The village of Nyos, in north-west Cameroon, was a peaceful place.
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- On 21 August, 1986, 1,746 people died from carbon dioxide poisoning after gas escaped overnight from the bottom of Lake Nyos in Cameroon.
- RFI examines what happened in the world's deadliest "limnic eruption" and how, 40 years later, our understanding of the danger posed by volcanic lakes is still evolving.
- Issued on: 21/08/2026 - 16:47 3 min Reading time The village of Nyos, in north-west Cameroon, was a peaceful place.
Sources: RFI