During the development of a new urban district south of the Greek capital Athens, 314 bombs were defused by the Greek army. The explosives were found in an underground storage room at Athens’ old Ellinikon airport and date back to World War II.
“Those bombs had been there next to our houses for eighty years,” Giannis Konstantatos, mayor of Elliniko-Argyroupoli, told the Kathimerini newspaper. According to the mine clearance service, the bombs were located two meters underground. The surface of the storage space housed schools for many years and sports facilities during the 2004 Olympic Games. “We only live by chance,” says Konstantatos.
According to the mayor, the bombs were stockpiled by the German army’s air force during the occupation of Athens in World War II. When the German army had to flee from the advancing Red Army, they were left behind.
A new urban district is currently being built on the 620 hectare airport site. That work is now made more difficult because more bombs may be stored, Greek media report.
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