The Lake That Killed 1700 People Without Warning

On the night of August 21, 1986, something invisible escaped from Lake Nyos in Cameroon. Within hours, more than 1,700 people were dead. There was no explosion. No lava. No warning. The killer was a massive cloud of carbon dioxide released from deep beneath the lake — an extremely rare natural disaster known as a limnic eruption. This is the story of what was hiding beneath Lake Nyos, what happened that night, and how scientists are trying to make sure it never happens again. 0:00 Cold Open 0:52 The Lake 1:43 What Was Hiding Under the Water 2:46 The Night of August 21 3:50 The Invisible Cloud 4:57 The Morning After 5:54 How Could a Lake Do This? 6:52 Disarming the Lake 7:36 Ending #LakeNyos #Disaster #Documentary