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  • General Crear of the Army Corps of Engineers talks with Larry Flak of Boots and Coots near a burning oil well just extinguished by Boots and Coots in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field. Flak headed the 1991 firefighting effort in Kuwait that extinguished more than 700 oil well fires placed by retreating Iraqi troops. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030329_027_rwx.jpg
  • General Crear of the Army Corps of Engineers talks with soldiers who have come to gawk and give a press tour of one of the burning oil wells just extinguished by Boots and Coots in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Rumaila, Iraq. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030329_021_rwx.jpg
  • The military public relations team moved in as soon as the oil field were secure to herd a bus load of journalists so that they could report on the firefighting effort by Boots and Coots, Rumaila oil field, southern Iraq. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030329_057_rwx.jpg
  • A military parade of Somali National Movement units in a display of unity in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Forces usually stay outside town in barracks. Somaliland is the breakaway republic in northern Somalia that declared independence in 1991 after 50,000 died in civil war. March 1992.
    SOM_70_xs.jpg
  • A military parade of the Somali National Movement marches in a display of unity in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Forces usually stay outside town in barracks. Somaliland is the breakaway republic in northern Somalia that declared independence in 1991 after 50,000 died in civil war. March 1992.
    SOM_69_xs.jpg
  • A military parade of the Somali National Movement marches in a display of unity in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Forces usually stay outside town in barracks. Somaliland is the breakaway republic in northern Somalia that declared independence in 1991 after 50,000 died in civil war. March 1992.
    SOM_68_xs.jpg
  • One of the oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the southern Iraq Rumaila oil field (and one in the distance). The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began in March of 2003. Seven or 8 wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest with five billion barrels in reserve. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_115_rwx.jpg
  • A dead Iraqi soldier surrounded by unexploded landmines in the Manageesh Oil Fields in Kuwait near the Saudi border. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_080_xs.jpg
  • An oil well fire set by the Iraqi's in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in the Al Burgan field, March 1991. Larry Flak, the oil well fire coordinator, surveys the damage on one of the more than 700 wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. A month after this photo was taken, the $20 billion effort to extinguish the fires began. Each day, in this oil field alone, the loss was estimated at 5 to 6 million barrels a day. This photo was made at mid-afternoon when the smoke from the fires made the desert as black as night. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history..Kuwait: Burning oil fields set by Iraqis. 10 am.
    KUW_061_xs.jpg
  • A dead Iraqi soldier surrounded by unexploded landmines in the Manageesh Oil Fields in Kuwait near the Saudi border. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February, 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_049_xs.jpg
  • One of the oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the southern Rumaila oil field. The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030328_037_rwx.jpg
  • One of the oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the southern Iraq Rumaila oil field The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or 8 wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest with five billion barrels in reserve. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_112_rwx.jpg
  • Aisa Bou Yabes, head of the Kuwait Oil Company firefighting team dispatched to southern Iraq smiles ever so slightly after his team extinguished their first oil well fire in Iraq's Rumaila field. The wells were set on fire with explosives by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze. Here the ground is still smoking and oil boiling as the well still spurts some oil. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. The burning wells in the Rumaila Field were ignited by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began in March 2003. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_099_rwx.jpg
  • One of the oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the southern Iraq Rumaila oil field. The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030325_138_rwx.jpg
  • A dead Iraqi soldier surrounded by unexploded landmines in the Manageesh Oil Fields in Kuwait near the Saudi border. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February, 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_050_xs.jpg
  • British troops patrol areas around burning oil wells in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field, in southern Iraq. The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze and at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_4640_x.jpg
  • An unexploded landmine in the Manageesh Oil Fields in Kuwaitnear the Saudi border. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert.
    KUW_081_xs.jpg
  • A member of the British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team, mine-clearing and bomb disposal troops, points out a mine on the beach in Kuwait. Nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991.
    KUW_076_xs.jpg
  • An unexploded landmine in the Manageesh Oil Fields in Kuwait near the Saudi border. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert.
    KUW_082_xs.jpg
  • A member of the British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team, mine clearing and bomb disposal troops, picking up a mine on the beach in Kuwait. Nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991.
    KUW_077_xs.jpg
  • Scrap metal junkyard in the Kuwaiti desert with 100,000 of the 300,000 cars destroyed from the Iraqi war. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_112_xs.jpg
  • The Crown Prince of Kuwait visiting the oil well fires for the first time in May which were set immediately after the end of the Gulf War. The royal family fled and when they returned they finally went out to see what all the smoke was about in the burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi, Kuwait. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_106_xs.jpg
  • A lizard with feet caked with oil in the Al-Burgan oil field after the Gulf War in 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_105_xs.jpg
  • Kuwaitis on the Road to the Manageesh Oil Fields near the Saudi border, attempt to fix a trailer in a sandstorm. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_091_xs.jpg
  • The Crown Prince of Kuwait visiting the oil well fires for the first time in May which were set immediately after the end of the Gulf War. The royal family fled and when they returned they finally went out to see the burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi, Kuwait. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_060_xs.jpg
  • Joe Bowden of Wild Well Control, Inc. In March, 1991, heads of the three Texas oil well fire fighting companies made their first trip to Kuwait to survey the damage of the burning oil fields set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in February. Here in the Al Burgan field in mid afternoon, it was as dark as a moonless night due to the heavy thick smoke. The only light came from the more than 300 flaming oil wells and the truck headlights. It was raining soot and unburned oil. It was estimated that 5 or 6 million barrels of oil were being lost every day in this field alone. Huge oil lakes were forming.
    KUW_054_xs.jpg
  • Aisa Bou Yabes, head of the Kuwait Oil Company firefighting team dispatched to southern Iraq inspects damage to oil well heads in Iraq's Rumaila field. The wells were set on fire with explosives by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_4603_x.jpg
  • The Kuwait Oil Company firefighting team dispatched to southern Iraq extinguished their first oil well fire in Iraq's Rumaila field. The wells were set on fire with explosives by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze. Here the ground is still smoking and oil boiling as the well still spurts some oil. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_105_rwx.jpg
  • Downtown Kuwait city with burning oil wells in the distance after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_108_xs.jpg
  • A lizard with feet caked with oil in the Al-Burgan oil field after the Gulf War in 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_104_xs.jpg
  • A Bangladeshi sheepherder tending a Kuwaiti's flock of sheep at a camp in the desert near the Manageesh Oil Fields near the Saudi border in July of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_102_xs.jpg
  • An unexploded rockeye submunition (cluster bomb), in the Magwa Oil Field. After finding these rockeye submunitions all over Kuwait, the British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team detonate them with plastic explosives from a safe distance. They walked over the entire country searching for unexploded munitions and land mines. Nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_098_xs.jpg
  • The British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team marking a safe route to drive through the Manageesh Oil field in Kuwait. After finding rockeye submunitions (cluster bombs) all over Kuwait, they detonate them with plastic explosives from a safe distance. Nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_097_xs.jpg
  • An unexploded rockeye submunition (cluster bomb), in the Al-Burgan Oil Field. After finding these rockeye submunitions all over Kuwait, the British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team detonate them with plastic explosives from a safe distance. Nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_095_xs.jpg
  • An unexploded rockeye submunition (cluster bomb), in the Magwa Oil Field. After finding these rockeye submunitions all over Kuwait, the British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team detonate them with plastic explosives from a safe distance. Nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_094_xs.jpg
  • Members of the British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team searching for mines and weapons caches in the Manageesh Oil Fields, near the Saudi border. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_092_xs.jpg
  • Author Tim Cahill in the South Al-Burgan Oil field, Kuwait. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history..
    KUW_086_xs.jpg
  • British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team in the Magwa oil field, in an ammo bunker booby trapped with hand grenades. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert.
    KUW_079_xs.jpg
  • British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team in an Ahmadi Moslem graveyard loading artillery shells on a truck for disposal. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February, 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert.
    KUW_078_xs.jpg
  • An Aardvark, a gyro guided minesweeper, combing the beach for mines. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February, 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991.
    KUW_075_xs.jpg
  • British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team sweeping for unexploded ordinance and bomblets in the devastated desert landscape in the burning Magwa oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War (near GC1: Gathering Center One). More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. The entire country was walked by teams of experts and more people died in this cleanup effort than US and Coalition soldiers killed during the actual war.
    KUW_072_xs.jpg
  • The Emir's Gardens during the Kuwait oil well fires. The huge botanical desert retreat was slowly destroyed by the flames of burning rivers of oil from nearby wells that were torched by retreating Iraqis. I photographed the gradual destruction of this walled compound in March, May and July of 1991. This was one of the last small palm tree to succumb to the fires in July, 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_069_xs.jpg
  • Oil well fire fighting specialists from the Texas company Boots and Coots shield themselves from the intense heat of the fire so that they can more closely direct other workers using equipment on the end of long booms attached to shielded bulldozers in the Kuwait oil fields. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_068_xs.jpg
  • Oil well fire fighting specialists from the Texas company Boots and Coots shield themselves from the intense heat of the fire so that they can more closely direct other workers using equipment on the end of long booms attached to shielded bulldozers in the Kuwait oil fields. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Photo taken on July 3, 1991.
    KUW_067_xs.jpg
  • An oil well fire specialist from the Texas company Wild Well Control shields himself from the intense heat of the fire so that he can more closely direct other workers using equipment on the end of long booms attached to shielded bulldozers in the Kuwait oil fields. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_059_xs.jpg
  • Larry Flak- O.G.S. chief engineer coordinator. In March, 1991, heads of the three Texas oil well fire fighting companies made their first trip to Kuwait to survey the damage of the burning oil fields set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in February. Here in the Al Burgan field in mid afternoon, it was as dark as a moonless night due to the heavy thick smoke. The only light came from the more than 300 flaming oil wells and the truck headlights. It was raining soot and unburned oil. It was estimated that 5 or 6 million barrels of oil were being lost every day in this field.
    KUW_057_xs.jpg
  • An oil well fire specialist of Red Adair, Co. of Texas works to prepare a well for capping by sawing off the damaged well head in the Kuwait oil fields. The fire has already been extinguished but the well is spewing oil and gas into the air under high pressure. The trick is to cut through the metal casing cleanly without causing any sparks that could reignite the well and incinerate the workers. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War (July, 1991) More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_048_xs.jpg
  • An exhausted Wild Well Control Inc. worker takes a break while capping an oil well after they extinguished the fire. The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Photo taken on July 8, 1991.
    KUW_043_xs.jpg
  • An exhausted Wild Well Control Inc. worker takes a break while capping an oil well after they extinguished the fire. The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Photo taken on July 8, 1991.
    KUW_042_xs.jpg
  • A worker from the Red Adair Company attempts to wash oil off his body after capping an oil well after they extinguished the fire. The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_040_xs.jpg
  • Safety Boss of Canada workers capping an oil well after they extinguished the fire. The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Photo taken on July 11, 1991.
    KUW_039_xs.jpg
  • The Red Adair Company capping an oil well after they extinguished the fire. The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_038_xs.jpg
  • he devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_035_xs.jpg
  • Firefighters preparing a burning oil well so that the damaged well head can be capped in the Magwa field near Ahmadi, Kuwait. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_033_xs.jpg
  • Monument to Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah on Arabian Gulf Street. The plaque below says that Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah was assassinated by the Iraqi invading troops in this car on Thursday the 2nd of August, 1990, while defending his country and principles. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.).
    KUW_030320_12_rwx.jpg
  • An oil lake and devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_029_xs.jpg
  • Apocalypse Cow: An abandoned cow in silhouette near the burning Kuwait oil fields immediately after the end of the Gulf War (March, 1991). Within a few weeks there were no animals alive in the desert. The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait right after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. An abandoned cow is silhouetted by the burning oil well. All cattle died within a few weeks. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_027_xs.jpg
  • An abandoned Iraqi tank in front of the burning Magwa oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. The desert was covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_023_xs.jpg
  • The Red Adair Company Capping an oil well after they extinguished the fire. The burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991 were covered in oil that rained down from the clouds of oil smoke and oil shooting into the air after a fire had been extinguished. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_022_xs.jpg
  • The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait right after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. Some abandoned cattle are silhouetted by the burning oil well. They all died within a few weeks. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_018_xs.jpg
  • An oil lake and devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_016_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of a non-burning oil well feeding an oil lake in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_015_xs.jpg
  • An oil lake and devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_014_xs.jpg
  • A lake of oil reflects a fire in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_013_xs.jpg
  • A small river of oil flows through the desert in the burning northern Al-Rawdhatain oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_011_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_004_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_003_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_002_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_001_xs.jpg
  • US Army helicopters landing near burning oil wells in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field, in southern Iraq. The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030401_189_x.jpg
  • For five days in a row, Kuwait firefighters attempted without success to kill an oil well fire in the Rumaila field placed by retreating Iraqi troops. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030401_113_rwx.jpg
  • A burning oil well in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field. The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and are under high pressure from natural gas. The bigger blowouts are wasting 10,000 barrels a day. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030328_021_rwx.jpg
  • Peter Menzel photographing oil well fires at Rumaila Oil Field, in southern Iraq. The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. This well was of relatively low volume. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030325_106_x.jpg
  • Burning oil well at Rumaila Oil Field in southern Iraq. The wells were ignited by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze and at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_504_x.jpg
  • Aisa Bou Yabes, head of the Kuwait Oil Company firefighting team dispatched to southern Iraq to extinguish oil well fires in Rumaila oilfield. Seven or eight of the oil wells were set on fire by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_487_x.jpg
  • A cluster bomb in the desert by an oil well fire, Southern Iraqi oil field. Unexploded cluster bombs litter the area around the burning oil wells in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field in Southern Iraq. The wells were set on fire with explosives by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. The cluster bombs were dropped by US forces to clear the oil well area. A number of them do not explode and this unexploded ordnance is another hazard faced by the experts who have to put the fires out and restore the well heads. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_4614_x.jpg
  • Burning oil wells at Rumaila Oil Field, in southern Iraq. The wells were set on fire with explosives placed by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began. Seven or eight wells were set ablaze but at least one other was detonated but did not ignite. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them very difficult and dangerous. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah..
    IRQ_030324_459_x.jpg
  • Heading north through the Rumaila Oil Field of Southern Iraq, convoys of fuel trucks carry the army's mechanical lifeblood past burning oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi forces. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. The burning wells in the Rumaila Field were ignited by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began in March 2003. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_285_rwx.jpg
  • Firefighters from the Kuwait Oil Company (called KWWK: Kuwait Wild Well Killers) pray at noon by the first oil well fire they were working on in Iraq's Rumaila Oil field. Later in the day they extinguished this smoky fire and the next day stopped the flow of gas and oil with drilling mud using what is called a "stinger", (a tapered pipe on the end of a long steel boom controlled by a bulldozer. Drilling mud, under high pressure, is pumped through the stinger into the well, stopping the flow of oil and gas). The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest oil fields with five billion barrels in reserve. The burning wells in the Rumaila Field were ignited by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began in March 2003. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_176_rwx.jpg
  • Firefighters from the Kuwait Oil Company (called KWWK: Kuwait Wild Well Killers) pray at noon by the first oil well fire they were working on in Iraq's Rumaila Oil Field. Later in the day they extinguished this smoky fire and the next day stopped the flow of gas and oil with drilling mud using what is called a "stinger", a tapered pipe on the end of a long steel boom controlled by a bulldozer. Drilling mud, under high pressure, is pumped through the stinger into the well, stopping the flow of oil and gas. The Rumaila field is one of Iraq's biggest with 5 billion barrels in reserve. The burning wells in the Rumaila Field were ignited by retreating Iraqi troops when the US and UK invasion began in March 2003. Rumaila is also spelled Rumeilah.
    IRQ_030324_151_rwx.jpg
  • Human skulls unearthed by a demining crew in Hargeisa, Somaliland. They were found in a mass grave where 200 locals were executed by Siad Barre Government troops in 1988. Hargeisa, Somaliland. Somaliland is the breakaway republic in northern Somalia that declared independence in 1991 after 50,000 died in civil war.March 1992.
    SOM_53_xs.jpg
  • Iraqi police officers and their U.S counterparts patrol a street in a fabricated Iraqi village at Fort Irwin, California. The sets are used for combat training exercises before the troops deploy to Iraq.
    USA_080916_075_xw.jpg
  • May 1, Worker's Day.  Troops in the Zocolo standing in red confetti and paper below where the president will speak in Mexico City, Mexico.
    MEX_137_xs.jpg
  • Sea Island: destroyed off shore oil docking faciltity after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_111_xs.jpg
  • Downtown Kuwait city with looted and shelled businesses after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_110_xs.jpg
  • Young boys with white sheep turned black from oil, smoke and rain from oil well fires near Umm al-Haiman, south of Ahmadi, Kuwait in March of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_101_xs.jpg
  • Drive-in movie theater Kuwait City after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_100_xs.jpg
  • Artillery shells on road to Umm-Qadeer, Kuwait. Huge amounts of munitions were abandoned in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi troops in February, 1991. Also, nearly a million land mines were deployed on the beaches and along the Saudi and Iraqi border. In addition, tens of thousands of unexploded bomblets (from cluster bombs dropped by Allied aircraft) littered the desert. July 1991.
    KUW_093_xs.jpg
  • A firefighter from Safety Boss of Canada sprays foam on one of the weaker oil well fires. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Photo shot on July 3, 1991.
    KUW_071_xs.jpg
  • The Emir's Gardens during the Kuwait oil well fires. The huge botanical desert retreat was slowly destroyed by the flames of burning rivers of oil from nearby wells that were torched by retreating Iraqis. I photographed the gradual destruction of this walled compound in March, May and July of 1991. This was one of the last small palm tree to succumb to the fires in July, 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_070_xs.jpg
  • Oil well fire fighting specialists from the Texas company Boots and Coots shield themselves from the intense heat of the fire so that they can more closely direct other workers using equipment on the end of long booms attached to shielded bulldozers in the Kuwait oil fields. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Photo taken on July 3, 1991.
    KUW_066_xs.jpg
  • The afternoon sun weakly shines though the smoke of the burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War. (May, 1991). More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_064_xs.jpg
  • In March, 1991, heads of the three Texas oil well fire fighting companies made their first trip to Kuwait to survey the damage of the burning oil fields set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in February. Here in the Al Burgan field in mid afternoon, it was as dark as a moonless night due to the heavy thick smoke. The only light came from the more than 300 flaming oil wells and the truck headlights. It was raining soot and unburned oil. It was estimated that 5 or 6 million barrels of oil were being lost every day in this field alone. Huge oil lakes were forming. The men in the photo are: Boots Hansen (white jacket, Boots and Coots), Raymond Henry (Red Adair Company, red coveralls), Joe Bowden (Wildwell Control, yellow coveralls), and Larry Flak (oil well fire coordinator, black jacket)
    KUW_058_xs.jpg
  • In March, 1991, heads of the three Texas oil well fire fighting companies made their first trip to Kuwait to survey the damage of the burning oil fields set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in February. Here in the Al Burgan field in mid afternoon, it was as dark as a moonless night due to the heavy thick smoke. The only light came from the more than 300 flaming oil wells and the truck headlights. It was raining soot and unburned oil. It was estimated that 5 or 6 million barrels of oil were being lost every day in this field alone. Huge oil lakes were forming. The men in the photo are: Boots Hansen (white jacket, Boots and Coots), Raymond Henry (Red Adair Company, red coveralls), Joe Bowden (Wildwell Control, yellow coveralls), and Larry Flak (oil well fire coordinator, black jacket).
    KUW_055_xs.jpg
  • Boots Hansen of Boots & Coots Inc. In March, 1991, heads of the three Texas oil well fire fighting companies made their first trip to Kuwait to survey the damage of the burning oil fields set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in February. Here in the Al Burgan field in mid afternoon, it was as dark as a moonless night due to the heavy thick smoke. The only light came from the more than 300 flaming oil wells and the truck headlights. It was raining soot and unburned oil. It was estimated that 5 or 6 million barrels of oil were being lost every day in this field alone. Huge oil lakes were forming.
    KUW_053_xs.jpg
  • British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team, near GC1 (Gathering Center One), mine-clearing and bomb disposal troops, at the Al-Burgan oil field in Kuwait. The entire country was walked by teams of experts and more people died in this cleanup effort than US and Coalition soldiers killed during the actual war.
    KUW_052_xs.jpg
  • An oil well fire specialist of Red Adair, Co. of Texas works to prepare a well for capping by sawing off the damaged well head in the Kuwait oil fields. The fire has already been extinguished but the well is spewing oil and gas into the air under high pressure. The trick is to cut through the metal casing cleanly without causing any sparks that could reignite the well and incinerate the workers. The company was one of those brought in to fight the Kuwait oil well fires after the end of the Gulf War (July, 1991) More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_047_xs.jpg
  • British Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team sweeping for unexploded ordinance and bomblets in the devastated desert landscape in the burning Magwa oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War (near GC1: Gathering Center One). More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. The entire country was walked by teams of experts and more people died in this cleanup effort than US and Coalition soldiers killed during the actual war.
    KUW_036_xs.jpg
  • A dead camel in July of 1991 in the devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_031_xs.jpg
  • An oil lake and devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_030_xs.jpg
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Peter Menzel Photography

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