1 minute read
Construction workers in Belgium have discovered a huge quantity of gold while renovating a building in Dendermonde.
The gold ingots and coins, valued at around €9 million, were found in a chest, bricked into the walls of a cellar, VRT News reported.
The discovery was made during refurbishment on a building belonging to social work organisation CAW Oost-Vlaanderen. Employees from construction firm De Brand stumbled upon the treasure and immediately told their client and the police.
“The gold consists of numbered gold ingots and old gold coins, hidden in a chest in the cellar,” said Geert Hillaert of CAW Oost-Vlaanderen. He saw the find himself but did not have time to examine it in detail. “Surprise and amazement were the first reactions,” he says. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The police took the gold into custody and transported it to a secure location. The East Flanders public prosecutor is now conducting an investigation. “At present, it is not known where the gold came from, nor, from a legal perspective, to whom it belongs,” a spokesperson said.