A massive cache of more than 20,000 tonnes of World War II high explosives and chemical weapons has been removed from a mine shaft in Germany.
The huge stash was hidden away after World War II in the Dethlinger Teich mine and forgotten for decades until toxic chemicals began leaching into the local water supply.
Chillingly, excavators are only 4.5 metres down the shaft near Munster and say there are at least another eight metres to do before they hit the bottom.
They reportedly expect to find a total of 100,000 grenades, bombs, shells and mortars hidden in the shaft.
Working conditions are so dangerous that explosives experts can only work in full protection gear in one-hour shifts as they remove the unstable leaking devices.
Excavation manager Heiner Hoormann told local media: “Nobody knows what lies below and what awaits us.”
Experts have put on show a terrifying collection of high explosive shells, mortars and grenades found so far since the excavation began in October.
One rusty shell has been identified as a highly toxic 300-kilogramme phosgene shell, a chemical weapon.
Victims took up to two days to drown from fluid produced slowly in their own lungs by the chemical.
Photographs released by excavation organisers show a deadly collection of explosives from what government officials have described grimly as “the most toxic hole in the world”.
Local media reported on 21st March that 400 explosive devices and 19,000 explosive fuses have been removed so far.
Lower Saxony State Environment Minister Christian Meyer, 48, a member of the Green Party, said: “The country will continue to support the cleanup of the most toxic hole in the world.
“The German Wehrmacht’s serious legacy of large parts of chemical weapons, which were carelessly thrown into a small pond decades ago to the detriment of an entire region and the environment, is now endangering groundwater and local residents.
“They must finally be eliminated from the world.”
Local media reported that a 600-square-metre tent has been set up at the site to catch any escaping gases from the mine.
The work to remove the explosive devices from the mineshaft is expected to continue until 2028 and will cost taxpayers EUR 72 million (GBP 61.6 million).
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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