Construction workers in Belgium this week uncovered $10.4 million in gold while building a new sewer below a former brewery, according to local police.
Police in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, a Flemish community outside Brussels, said the workers contacted them immediately about the find, which officers cataloged, then placed in a “high-security federal government vault.”
An 18-year-old worker on the site named Kobe told VRT news he at first thought the gold pieces were 1 Euro coins.
“Our first reaction was actually disbelief, surprise. Of course, we didn’t expect to find gold,” Kobe said, adding that the workers had to remove a piece of foundation to lay down pipe for the sewerage.
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“When we did that, we suddenly saw something lying around,” he said.
Project leader Mario said it was a “crazy feeling.”
“They shouted, ‘We found gold,‘” he told the outlet of his workers. “I went to look and took the gold in my hands. We also continued to dig up new coins and bars. Only then did what we had found really dawn.”
He called his boss and then the police.
The construction workers don’t actually get to keep the gold. Under Belgian law, the rightful owner has the right to claim the gold within five years.
When asked if it had crossed his mind to keep it, Mario told VRT, “It’s about so many coins and bars, that almost wouldn’t be possible. Besides, it would also be theft.”
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Kobe said he still hoped for a finder’s fee. “That would be nice.”
The building is owned by an organization that provides welfare support to the Flemish community.
The director of the organization said he hoped the gold could be used to help with the “enormous need we experience daily,” according to the BBC.
The local police warned treasure hunters against visiting the site, saying it’s a fenced-off construction site with “several dangerous pits” and that the gold has all been removed.
Police added, “We hope this treasure ends up in the right hands and that this unexpected discovery positively changes many lives!”