Typically, a sewer system is the last place on earth that you'd want to end up. Between the atrocious smell, plethora of rodents and the swampy water, sewer systems are widely regarded as one of the yuckiest places imaginable.
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Miraculously, a crew of construction workers maximized their trip below ground by literally striking gold.
During a renovation project, a team of Belgian workers discovered $10 million worth of gold on Tuesday while installing a sewer system.
Construction Workers Strike Gold in Sewer System
"Our first reaction was actually disbelief," an 18-year-old student worker named Kobe told local media outlet VRT while recalling the lucrative find. "Of course, we hadn't expected to find gold."
His crew was tasked with overhauling a building in the Flemish community of Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde. The construction site is around a 40-minute drive from Brussels.
The workers were reportedly removing the foundation to lay a sewer pipe when they "suddenly saw something lying there," Kobe recounted.
"I went to look and took the gold in my hands," site manager Mario told VRT. "We kept digging up new coins. Bars as well. Only then did it really sink in what we had found. That was a crazy feeling."
He added, "After 33 years in construction, it is the first time I have experienced something like this."
Officials later came and collected the gold. The unexpected gold haul was then inventoried and "safely stored as quickly as possible in a high-security vault of the federal government services," according to the translated statement.
Overall, 49 gold bars and dozens of gold coins were unearthed. The haul was valued at roughly $10.4 million, according to VRT.
I guess one man's trash really is another man's treasure.
Hoping to avoid a rush of gold miners, police warned potential treasure seekers that the construction site has been "fenced off" and had "several dangerous pits."
"Moreover, we have already passed by. Everything is definitely gone. So certainly do not take irresponsible risks!" they added.
The East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the surprising discovery, per Belgian outlet De Standaard.
"At this moment, it is not known where that gold comes from. Nor to whom it legally belongs," Prosecutor Hanne Ollevier told the outlet.
