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  • 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
  • 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_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_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_005_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_006_xs.jpg
  • The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi 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_007_xs.jpg
  • The fires of a a burning oil well reflected in the surrounding oil in the 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_009_xs.jpg
  • 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_008_xs.jpg
  • A car's tail lights make red steaks down a road 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_010_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
  • 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
  • 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_012_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
  • 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_016_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
  • The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait right after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. Tornados of fire are seen spinning off a burning well. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_019_xs.jpg
  • An aerial of the devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. The sand has been coated with oil from more than 700 wells that were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Firefighting equipment has been moved in to begin the process of extinguishing this burning well.
    KUW_017_xs.jpg
  • 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. Here a fire fighting crew from Wild Well Control sprays water on a fire so that they can move closer with heavy equipment and attempt to stop the flow with a "stinger?. A stinger is 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.
    KUW_020_xs.jpg
  • An aerial of the devastated desert landscape in the burning greater Al Burgan oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in May of 1991. The sand has been coated with oil from more than 700 wells that were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. Firefighting equipment has been moved in to begin the process of extinguishing this burning well.
    KUW_021_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
  • Kuwait oil well fires. Al Burgan field. Tornados of smoke reflected in oil lake.
    KUW_024_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
  • A tornado of oil and smoke is mirrored in a vast lake of oil in the Al-Burgan Oil Fields, Kuwait. In this field alone, there were more than 300 oil wells set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops in the largest man-made environmental disaster in history. The $20 billion effort to extinguish the fires lasted until the end of the year. Each day, in this oil field alone, the loss was estimated at 5 to 6 million barrel. Huge burning oil lakes added smoke and oily rain to a nightmarish scene. May, 1991. (NPPA Winner; Communication Arts Winner).
    KUW_025_xs.jpg
  • A firefighting oil well worker employed by Safety Boss of Canada cools off in a tank of seawater in July 1991 during efforts to cap a well during the Kuwait Oil Well Fires. Ambient temperatures in the July desert exceeded 120 degrees F and often went much higher. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_026_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
  • In Kuwait on July 3, 1991, a Boots and Coots oil well firefighting specialist guides a stinger that will pump drilling mud into the damaged well. A stinger is 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. Many of the wells are 10,000 feet deep and produce huge volumes of oil and gas under tremendous pressure, which makes capping them difficult and dangerous. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_028_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_029_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
  • Kuwait Towers, Kuwait City, Kuwait. From the government website: One of Kuwait's most famous landmarks, the Kuwait Towers are situated on Arabian Gulf Street on a promontory to the east of the City centre in Dasman. The uppermost sphere of the largest tower (which is 187 meters high) has a revolving observation area and a restaurant with access by high speed lifts. The entrance fee is 350 fils per person, or free if lunch or dinner has been reserved. Cameras with zoom lens are forbidden. The middle tower contains 1 million gallons of water.? (Source information comes from: www.kuwait-info.com). (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.).
    KUW_030321_007_rwx.jpg
  • Kuwait Towers, Kuwait City, Kuwait. From the government website: One of Kuwait's most famous landmarks, the Kuwait Towers are situated on Arabian Gulf Street on a promontory to the east of the City centre in Dasman. The uppermost sphere of the largest tower (which is 187 meters high) has a revolving observation area and a restaurant with access by high speed lifts. The entrance fee is 350 fils per person, or free if lunch or dinner has been reserved. Cameras with zoom lens are forbidden. The middle tower contains 1 million gallons of water.? (Source information comes from: www.kuwait-info.com). (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.).
    KUW_030321_10_rwx.jpg
  • A British Military spokesman gives reporters his spin on the first day of the 2003 invasion of Iraq by US and UK coalition forces.  Kuwait..
    KUW_030322_04_rwx.jpg
  • People throughout the Arab world show great interest in what the US calls "Operation Iraqi Freedom". In the old souk in downtown Kuwait City, men spent the afternoon hours of the first days of the war in a tea room, watching Al Jazeera Network on television, reading papers, drinking tea, and smoking tobacco..
    KUW_030323_11_rwx.jpg
  • At a large coffee shop where men lounge about, smoke, and drink coffee and tea, a man reads a newspaper about the USA invasion of Iraq on March 23, 2003. Kuwait City, Kuwait. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.).
    KUW_030323_4588_rwx.jpg
  • During a sandstorm in March 2003, and the USA invasion of Iraq, Kuwait City, Kuwait, gets blasted by high winds laden with desert sand from the north. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.).
    KUW_030326_002_x.jpg
  • Along the beach front in Kuwait City, Kuwait at dusk, during the start of the Gulf War in 2003.
    KUW_030330_002_x.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
  • 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 abandoned Iraqi tank in front of the burning Magwa oil fields in Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War in 1991 (July, 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_032_xs.jpg
  • Aerial of burning a burning oil well in the Magwa oil field 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_034_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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).
    KUW_037_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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_041_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
  • 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_044_xs.jpg
  • An avid runner not deterred by disaster, Dr. Daoud, head of preventive services at Ahmadi Hospital takes his daily jog near the burning Kuwait oil fields. (May, 1991). Dr. Daoud, a Palestinian doctor working in Kuwait for many years, participated in studies of the effects of breathing oil well fire smoke for extended periods of time by dissecting the lungs of sheep kept alive in Kuwait and comparing them with imported sheep. He displayed some of the healthy and diseased lungs.
    KUW_045_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).
    KUW_046_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Oil well fire specialists of Wild Well Control, Inc. of Texas cap a Kuwait oil well after extinguishing one of the 700 fires that raged in the fields during the Gulf War. Working in high winds with ambient temperature well over 100 degrees F, workers dressed in Nomex suits drank 10-20 liters of water a day. (July, 1991).
    KUW_051_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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_056_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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_062_xs.jpg
  • An oil well fire specialist from the Texas company Boots and Coots 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_063_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
  • 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_065_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Paul Jefferson, a blind amputee in army hospital in England was wounded by a land mine in Kuwait. Paul Jefferson, who had overseen the de-mining of the Falklands. He had also written a manual on defusing Russian land mines. But he stepped on one and lost a leg, his eyes, and parts of his hands. I visited him in a veterans' hospital for the blind in England a few months later and made a short video on his rehabilitation and recollections of the accident. In this photo he is being taught to type with a computer program that sounds out the letters as he types them.
    KUW_073_xs.jpg
  • Paul Jefferson, a blind amputee in army hospital in England was wounded by a land mine in Kuwait. Paul Jefferson, who had overseen the de-mining of the Falklands. He had also written a manual on defusing Russian land mines. But he stepped on one and lost a leg, his eyes, and parts of his hands. Photographer Peter Menzel visited him in a veterans' hospital for the blind in England a few months later and made a short video on his rehabilitation and recollections of the accident. In this photo he is being taught to type with a computer program that sounds out the letters as he types them.
    KUW_074_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • Kuwait: Magwa oil field, British explosive ordnance disposal, Rockeye submunition..
    KUW_083_xs.jpg
  • Abandoned bullets in the sand by the Jahra Road from Kuwait City to Basra, Iraq. American forces chased and trapped retreating Iraqi forces north of Kuwait City on the night of February 25 and the day of February 26, 1991. These units withdrew via the Jahra road on the way to Basra, an escape route that has become known as the "highway to hell." They were attacked by coalition aircraft and it is estimated that several thousand retreating Iraqis died..
    KUW_084_xs.jpg
  • Kuwait: Ahmadi Moslem graveyard; British explosive ordnance disposal team loading Iraqi arms/ordnance.
    KUW_085_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
  • Kuwaiti checkpoint outside Kuwait city immediately after the Gulf War. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.
    KUW_087_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. .
    KUW_088_xs.jpg
  • An aerial of a small section of the Jahra road from Kuwait City to Basra, Iraq. American forces chased and trapped retreating Iraqi forces north of Kuwait City on the night of February 25 and the day of February 26, 1991. These units withdrew via the Jahra road on the way to Basra, an escape route that has become known as the "highway to hell." They were attacked by coalition aircraft and it is estimated that several thousand retreating Iraqis died. .
    KUW_089_xs.jpg
  • Author Tim Cahill having a cigarette break while viewing the vehicular carnage still remaining on the Jahra Road in July 1991, from Kuwait City to Basra, Iraq. American forces chased and trapped retreating Iraqi forces north of Kuwait City on the night of February 25 and the day of February 26, 1991. These units withdrew via the Jahra road on the way to Basra, an escape route that has become known as the "highway to hell." They were attacked by coalition aircraft and it is estimated that several thousand retreating Iraqis died..
    KUW_090_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
  • 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
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Peter Menzel Photography

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