Swiss city must be abandoned for 10 years to dismantle arsenal

Mitholz , a small town in the canton of Bern, Switzerland , is expected to be emptied for more than a decade, the local government said on Thursday, 27. The reason is a huge World War II weapons depot hidden underground, which the Ministry of Defense considers an "unacceptable" risk.

At the end of 2018, the Federal Environment Office (Foen) estimated that the threat of an explosion was significantly greater than previously thought. In a report, Foen recalled a partial explosion in Mitholz in 1947 that killed nine people and destroyed the train station near the city.

Today, more than 70 years later, some 3,500 tonnes of ammunition remain buried under the rocks on the site, and authorities are considering removing the population to dismantle that deposit and eliminate the risk of detonations.

"Depending on how the weapons withdrawal process develops, residents must prepare to leave Mitholz for more than 10 years," said the ministry

.About 170 city dwellers may have to leave their homes to facilitate removal, but not before 2031, when the planning of the operation is complete. The unstable rock formations of Mitholz can only be removed in layers, and it will be necessary to build a new road so that the cities in the region remain connected.

However, for the proposal to succeed, residents would have to approve the plan to leave the area. The British broadcaster BBC reports that a public consultation is underway to define the best way to proceed.

According to the Swiss news portal Swissinfo, a plan to cover the entire area with stones and bury ammunition remains on the table, but authorities and residents do not wish to leave “a toxic gift for the descendants”, as project manager Hanspeter said Aellig at a press conference on Tuesday 25.