Deadly mustard gas is leaking from a vast underwater munitions dump created close to Belgium's North Sea coastline after the First World War.
The so-called weapons cemetery – containing 35,000 tons of unexploded bombs, shells and grenades – has long been considered safe.
Mainly German weapons were buried there in cement-filled containers under a two mile sandbank close to the Belgian coastal town of Knokke.
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But fears have been raised that the historic ammunition may create new problems after traces of both mustard gas and TNT were detected on the sandbank, known as Paardenmarkt.
The traces were found at two separate sites, Philippe De Backer, Belgium’s North Sea Minister, told parliament on Wednesday.
Indyplus gallery: First World War in pictures
Show all 15
Indyplus gallery: First World War in pictures
1/15 Germany
1918: A scene from the German film 'West Front', about life in the trenches during the first World War
2/15 Trafalgar Square, London
1914: In Trafalgar Square, London street urchins dressed as soldiers with paper hats and canes as guns stand to attention watched by a small crowd. Behind them is a notice declaring ' The Need for Fighting Men is Urgent'
3/15 Marylebone Grammar School, London
1914: Two men conscripted to the British Army undergoing a medical check-up at Marylebone Grammar School, London
4/15 Victoria station, London
1914: A soldier saying goodbye to a loved one in the rain at Victoria station, London, as he leaves for the front
5/15 Victoria station, London
1914: Two soldiers on the concourse at Victoria station, London, about to leave for the front line. They are carrying parcels full of food and other provisions
6/15 British Army
1914: A group of new recruits in training for service in the British Army during World War I
7/15 Aisne, France
1914: A lone soldier with a bicycle stands amid the remains of a German motor convoy which lines a country lane after an attack by French field guns in the battle of the Aisne in France
Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
8/15 Aisne River, France
1914: German sharpshooters move to a position near the front line, during the fighting near the Aisne River
9/15 German naval zeppelin
1914: The L2, a German naval zeppelin during World War I
10/15 France
1914: French officers dining in style in a trench near the front line
11/15 Fort Vaux, France
1916: A German rifleman beside the corpse of a French soldier in a trench at Fort Vaux, France
12/15 London
1915: Soldiers arriving at a station in London to travel home for Christmas
13/15 German Army
1915: A wounded German soldier
14/15 British Army
1915: A wounded British soldier is stretchered back to camp past a carnage-strewn trench, during the World War I
15/15 Brighton Pavilion
1915: Injured Indian soldiers of the British Army at the Brighton Pavilion, converted into a military hospital
1/15 Germany
1918: A scene from the German film 'West Front', about life in the trenches during the first World War
2/15 Trafalgar Square, London
1914: In Trafalgar Square, London street urchins dressed as soldiers with paper hats and canes as guns stand to attention watched by a small crowd. Behind them is a notice declaring ' The Need for Fighting Men is Urgent'
3/15 Marylebone Grammar School, London
1914: Two men conscripted to the British Army undergoing a medical check-up at Marylebone Grammar School, London
4/15 Victoria station, London
1914: A soldier saying goodbye to a loved one in the rain at Victoria station, London, as he leaves for the front
5/15 Victoria station, London
1914: Two soldiers on the concourse at Victoria station, London, about to leave for the front line. They are carrying parcels full of food and other provisions
6/15 British Army
1914: A group of new recruits in training for service in the British Army during World War I
7/15 Aisne, France
1914: A lone soldier with a bicycle stands amid the remains of a German motor convoy which lines a country lane after an attack by French field guns in the battle of the Aisne in France
Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
8/15 Aisne River, France
1914: German sharpshooters move to a position near the front line, during the fighting near the Aisne River
9/15 German naval zeppelin
1914: The L2, a German naval zeppelin during World War I
10/15 France
1914: French officers dining in style in a trench near the front line
11/15 Fort Vaux, France
1916: A German rifleman beside the corpse of a French soldier in a trench at Fort Vaux, France
12/15 London
1915: Soldiers arriving at a station in London to travel home for Christmas
13/15 German Army
1915: A wounded German soldier
14/15 British Army
1915: A wounded British soldier is stretchered back to camp past a carnage-strewn trench, during the World War I
15/15 Brighton Pavilion
1915: Injured Indian soldiers of the British Army at the Brighton Pavilion, converted into a military hospital
Carl Decaluwé, the governor of West Flanders, called for the site, which is less than a mile from the coast, to be cleared immediately after the revelation.
“Better to do this now than when the leaks have got worse,” he told the Het Laatste Nieuwsnewspaper.
But Leopold Lippens, mayor of Knokke-Heist municipality, said decisions must not be made too hastily.
“There are dozens, if not hundreds, of ammunition cemeteries in the North Sea, especially along the French coast,” he said. “Why would there suddenly be a problem in Knokke?”
Although it is now more than a century since the Great War ended, it continues to haunt Belgium’s seas.
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In September, an intact German submarine was found on the seabed there – with the bodies of all 23 crew still inside.
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