Explosive remains from the Second World War have been found under Athens’ old airport. A total of 314 bombs left behind by the German air force were defused there. The ammunition depot was only two meters deep – there were also kindergartens above it for decades. Even the Olympic Games took place above the bombs.
“It is mind-boggling how an entire airport and countless municipal and civil aviation facilities could operate in such a minefield,” said Mayor of the Elliniko-Argyroupoli region Giannis Konstantatos, relieved that there were no explosions or accidents. .
“We only live by chance,” Konstantatos continued. For eight decades, airport facilities stood above and next to the camp and, after its closure, schools, kindergartens and, during the 2004 Athens Olympics, sports facilities.
“The bombs have been next to our houses for 80 years”
According to the mayor, the German air force had stored the bombs at the old airfield on the coast of Athens during the occupation of Greece (1941-1944) and left them behind when they hurriedly left southeastern Europe due to the advance of the Red Army in the Balkans. . “The bombs have been next to our houses for 80 years,” he told the Kathimerini newspaper.
Here is a plan showing what is planned for the old airport site:
A huge new neighborhood is currently being built on the approximately 620 hectare airport site on the coast of Athens. New hotels and countless luxury residential complexes are being built. The work is made more difficult by the risk of more underground bombs, Greek media report.
Source: Krone
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