Poison gas weapons reach military depot

Seven refrigerated lorries and 51 support vehicles, forming a convoy four kilometres in length, completed the 240 kilometres from the Vimy munitions dump in five hours, the prefecture of the department of Marne said. Motorways along the transport route were closed to traffic during the delicate operation, which was accompanied by over 200 policemen and four civil security and fire service units.

The condition of the weapons and the crates in which they were stored had prompted the French Interior Ministry to evacuate 13,000 inhabitants from around the Vimy site on Friday because of the danger of leakage or explosion. Some of the shells contain mustard gas, which can cause blindness and seriously damage the respiratory system.

On Sunday, during the loading operation, gas leaked out of one of the shells, but no one was injured. Another 120 tons of weapons stored at Vimy are to be re- conditioned before the residents around the munitions dump are allowed to return to their homes. That operation is expected to take another seven days.

(sda)