Field of WWII mines discovered near St Petersburg

Russian emergency services are defusing a field of WWII anti-tank mines that were discovered off a motorway leading to Saint Petersburg, police and a military-historical group say.

The wartime devices have been found some 50 kilometers (30 miles) out of Russia’s second city.

“It’s extremely dangerous. These old mines are aggressive, if one of them explodes, the others will go straight away and the blast will be serious,” says Andrei Sizov, head of a local historical society.

Police confirm they had been informed over the weekend that mines were discovered in the area but declined to give any further details.

Sizov says a local inhabitant had made the discovery and informed his group.

He says the mines were put in place by Soviet forces in 1941, when a German advance was threatening Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg.

The mines were spread over a distance of 120 meters (130 yards) along the side of the road, Sizov said.

Around 15 mines had already been discovered and were being defused, he adds.

Leningrad and the surrounding region were the sites of vicious battles between the Red Army and the Nazis from 1941 to 1944, and a number of mines from the period are believed to remain undiscovered.

— AFP