A prolonged drought has drained an Austrian lake to reveal roughly 222 kilograms of World War II-era explosives, prompting authorities to seal off and then reopen the shoreline over three days. A 35-year-old local man discovered war relics on the dried lakebed of the Nussensee near Bad Ischl on Saturday evening, 25 July.
Bomb disposal experts recovered roughly 200 kg of ordnance on Sunday, including detonators and two highly explosive TNT charges carrying one kilogram of explosives each. The Gmunden district authority imposed a no-access order covering the entire shoreline and an adjacent hiking trail. A further 22 kilograms of military scrap were pulled from the lake on Monday, bringing the total haul to around 222 kg before the authority lifted the closure.
Water levels at the Nussensee have dropped sharply amid persistent dry conditions, exposing material that had lain submerged for decades.