// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Builders unearth €9m gold stash sealed in walls of Belgian property
Local police shared images of the hoard, discovered earlier this week
Builders renovating a house in Belgium have discovered a stash of gold reportedly worth some €9m (£7.6m) sealed into the walls of its cellar.
The construction workers stumbled across the hidden trove of gold bars and coins while drilling to lay new sewage pipes in the property in east Flanders earlier this week, local media report.
The discovery has sparked interest in who might get to keep the hoard - with both the builders and the local charity that owns the site having a chance of claiming it.
After launching an investigation, police warned people against attending the site to search for more treasure, saying the house was "turned upside down" and all the gold had been moved to a secure location.
The builders unearthed the stash while working on the building's foundations - including an 18-year-old working a summer job.
"Our first reaction was actually disbelief, amazement," the student, named Kobe, told Belgian public broadcaster VRT.
"At first I thought they were €1 coins. But then we also saw a gold nugget lying there. That's when we realised it was something bigger."
Soon after, they alerted police to the discovery and explained that keeping it for themselves was not an option.
"There are so many coins and bars - it would be almost impossible," the site manager Mario told VRT.