Some 200 WWII landmines found in Zuid-Holland field

Around 200 landmines from the Second World War were found in a field in 's-Gravendeel in Zuid-Holland on Wednesday. The Ministry of Defense's explosives disposal department will remove the landmines and safely detonate them elsewhere on Thursday, NU.nl reports.

The owner of the field found the explosives while he was working on the land on Wednesday morning, a police spokesperson said to the newspaper. According to the Defense explosive experts, they do not pose a danger to the environment. Still, the site will be guarded until the mines have been removed.

The farmer whose land is involved told AD that he found the mines while digging trenches to install rainwater pipes. According to the farmer, the explosives were disabled after the Second World War.

Explosive detection specialist Huibert van Driel told RTV Rijnmond that the discovery of so many explosives is remarkable. According to him, the minefield was laid by the Germans as a line of defense. "There was never fighting in the Hoeksche Waard, but there was on the Eiland van Dordrecht. And around Moerdijk Bridge, of course. To prevent the Allies from coming to Rotterdam, minefields were laid here and there."