Swiss Town May Need To Evacuate For More Than A Decade Due To WWII Weapons Cache

Residents of a Swiss town may need to leave their homes for more than a decade. This is due to a potentially dangerous WWII weapons cache. Authorities will need to clear out an underground weapons cache nearby. About 3,500 tons of ammunition remain in a former armory in Mitholz. Some material had already exploded in 1947, which killed nine people. However, most of what’s left in the cache is reportedly covered in rocks.

Agence France-Presse quotes Switzerland’s defense ministry, saying, “Depending on how the work develops, residents should expect the evacuation to last up to more than 10 years.” Part of the evacuation may even include rerouting a major road that passing through the main town area.

Dangerous weapons cache could pose a safety threat to residents

Switzerland’s defense ministry confirms that the clean-up is predicted to take place beginning in 2031 after “extensive preparations.” However, they did say if evacuations could “pose insurmountable problems,” then alternatively, they could place a huge rock mass on top of the armory to minimize any risk of safety. They have also confirmed that there are systems in place currently temperatures, gas emissions, and rock movements at the site.

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Despite this, officials claim that they are confident that they can eventually remove all the ammunition from the site when the time comes.

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