[CPEO-MEF] French Evacuated in Munitions Scare

[mervtano@iiirm.org]

Friday April 13 12:39 PM ET
French Evacuated in Munitions Scare

By FREDERIC LEPINAY, Associated Press Writer

VIMY, France (AP) - Up to 15,000 people were being evacuated from their
homes in northern France on Friday because of fears that a stockpile of
World War I munitions could explode or leak toxic chemicals, including
mustard gas.

Police and firemen were going door to door, telling people to leave their
homes within 24 hours. Those being evacuated live within a two-mile radius
from a depot in the northern town of Vimy, where officials found signs of
cracking in some munitions containers at the storage site over the last few
days.

Interior Minister Daniel Vaillant called it a ``very serious matter.''
Hundreds of soldiers and police officers were rushed to Vimy, a town of
4,500 people some 90 miles north of Paris, and more than 100 buses were
brought in to shuttle people to hotels.

For more see:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010413/wl/france_wwi_munitions_1.html




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