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View all search resultsWhat lies beneath: Swiss search for bombs at bottom of Lake Geneva
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A view of the Lake Stage from the shores of Lake Geneva at the opening of the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 2, 2021 in Montreux. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)
T
he pristine turquoise waters of Lake Geneva may appear serene, but lurking below are piles of bombs, cartridges and possibly even chemical weapons discarded decades ago.
Long believed to be safely slumbering beneath thick layers of protective sediment, the munitions at the bottom of the biggest lake in the Alps have raised fresh safety and environmental concerns.
"We believe there are bombs and shells, and probably rifle ammunition," Jacques Martelain, the Geneva canton's head geologist, told AFP.
Some also fear there might also be phosgene bombs -- deadly chemical weapons -- sitting on the bottom of the lake, he said.
For the first time ever, Swiss authorities will soon start mapping the piles of munitions in the lake to determine what kind of explosive debris is there, how much, and whether it should be removed.
Switzerland is a famously neutral country that did not fight in the two world wars, but its long-held position is one of well-armed neutrality.
Between World War I and the mid-1960s, thousands of tonnes of munitions, from artillery to grenades and detonators, were sunk in lakes across the nation.
