Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
new police uniform 1
New Dutch police uniforms feature a broad yellow stripe (photo: Politie) - Credit: New Dutch police uniforms feature a broad yellow stripe (photo: Politie)
Crime
Weird
Utrecht
tunnel
politie
EOD
Explosives Ordnance Disposal
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - 17:41
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Mysterious 18-meter secret tunnel found under Utrecht homes

Police in Utrecht made an unusual discovery on Tuesday when they discovered a secret tunnel running below several homes along the J.P. Coenstraat. Investigators think the 18-meter-long hidden corridor was only recently created, but residents say they have no idea how or when it was constructed.

De Dragon Runner van de EOD kruipt zometeen het gangenstelsel onder de J.P. Coenstraat door. pic.twitter.com/RUPOJeytlz

— John Maes (@johnmaes) April 2, 2019

Authorities arrived on the street at about 10 a.m. They were responding to multiple reports of an inexplicable scent of clay and smoke, police said in a statement.

Officers gained entrance to a vacant home on the block and found the tunnel via a whole in the building's crawlspace. If the corridor was built of late, it could explain the fresh smell of clay, a police spokesperson told broadcaster NOS.

Medewerkers van de Explosieven Opruimings Dienst gaan nu een ander pand binnen op de JP Coenstraat. Mogelijk is dat het einde van de tunnel pic.twitter.com/Zsa6FKQVg0

— Nils de Kruijff (@nilsdekruijff) April 2, 2019

A team of explosives disposal experts were called in as a precaution, and sent a robotic vehicle into the passageway after standing water was pumped out of the space.

Police on Tuesday said the tunnel appeared to be a dead end with only the one entry and exit point via the vacant home. Residents did file reports of damage related to the tunnel, which investigators will examine further, police said. 

There were no arrests made as no evidence of wrongdoing was immediately uncovered.

Het gangenstel in de Utrecht JP Coenstraat loopt mogelijk onder vijf huizen door. De brandweer pompt de kruipruimte leeg. https://t.co/5fDpOIIe96 pic.twitter.com/5yiqDsG1x2

— RTV Utrecht (@rtvutrecht) April 2, 2019

De robot is klaar met onderzoek in het gangenstelsel onder woningen in de Utrechtse J.P. Coenstraat https://t.co/xTiI76GKjf pic.twitter.com/VuObd0fVDJ

— RTV Utrecht (@rtvutrecht) April 2, 2019

Brandweer met twee wagens ter plekke. Brandslang wordt uitgerold. Veel vragen bij passanten en bewoners van J.P. Coenstraat. pic.twitter.com/zUhtRAW2Lj

— John Maes (@johnmaes) April 2, 2019

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Dutch students less interested in German studies; Spanish gaining popularity
  • Women's prison guard suspected of sexual abuse
  • Mondriaan painting sold for $315,000 in New York
  • Netherlands teaming up with Germany, Denmark for more offshore wind farms
  • Satanic pedophile network tales cost conspiracy theorists €215,000 in damages
  • Rutte's lack of transparency a pattern, opposition says in deleted texts debate

Top stories

  • Storm warning intensified: Code orange alert issued for three Dutch provinces
  • Cabinet cutting €2.2 billion from climate, development funds to push into Defense: report
  • PM Rutte's deleted texts can't be recovered; Parliamentary debate today
  • Thunderstorms in Netherlands on Thursday: Code Yellow
  • More substantial minimum wage increase set for next year: Report
  • Labor strike to shut The Hague public transportation on June 2

© 2012-2022, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content