The morning of August 22, 1986 revealed a terrible sight in the vicinity of Lake Nyos in Cameroon – corpses of dead pets and people were strewn all around in a 20-kilometer area. Immediately, of course, conspiracy theorists were excited, secret weapons were searched for and what not, but the answer was hidden in four simple letters – nature.
“The Night of the Apocalypse” was the name given to the night that turned the clear turquoise lake into a reddish brown, and was the only visible change in the surroundings of Nyos apart from dead animals and people. No traces of the explosion, no destroyed houses, the grass was green, the trees were rustling in the wind, no injuries or damage were found among the dead. Initially, it was believed that some unknown virus was to blame, which “wiped everyone down”, allowing only a few who had a particularly good immune system to survive. However, neither the officials nor the scientists who visited the places affected by the accident, even shortly after the incident, did not get sick.
Death surprised people where they were at that time – at home by the hearth or in the field, some already in bed. After ANO report, 1,746 residents of the area died that night. First they lost consciousness, but after a few breaths they were already dead. In the two settlements closest to the lake, Nyos and Kama, only four people survived. More than 3,500 livestock also perished – they fell where they were at that time. 36 hours after the unusual event, some regained consciousness to conclude that their family, loved ones, neighbors, livestock – all died, but the lake had turned beyond recognition, turned rust brown.
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