Field of WWII anti-tank mines discovered near St Petersburg

SAINT 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 said Monday.

The wartime devices were found some 50 km 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,” said Andrei Sizov, head of a local historical society.

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

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

He said 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 metres (130 yards) along the side of the road, Sizov said.

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

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.