{
  "id": 1172155,
  "title": "Construction workers dig up gold worth over $10M in Belgium",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/construction-workers-dig-up-gold-worth-over-10m-in-belgium",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T02:10:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "VnExpress International",
    "slug": "vnexpress-international",
    "url": "https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/construction-workers-dig-up-gold-worth-over-10m-in-belgium-5109592.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On August 11, construction workers in Dendermonde, Belgium, unearthed an astonishing treasure worth over $10 million. The discovery came to light during renovation work on a building owned by a local charity, CAW East-Flanders. Police were alerted by the workers, who posted photographs of around 50 gold bars and piles of gold coins on their Facebook page. The haul consisted of bars and coins estimated to be worth €9 million.\n\nOne worker, identified only as Kobe, expressed disbelief and amazement at the find. \"We stumbled across it while carrying out groundwork to lay a pipe for the sewerage system,\" he said. \"We certainly hadn’t expected to find gold.\" The gold was quickly inventoried and secured in a high-security federal government vault.\n\nThe police department changed its profile picture to a gold coin in response to the find, warning curious treasure hunters to stay away from the fenced-off construction site. Police advised that pursuing the treasure would be futile. The legal owner of the treasure remains unclear, leaving the question of who would ultimately benefit from the find unresolved.",
  "summary": "Belgian police are calling on treasure hunters to steer clear of a building site where construction workers this week stumbled on a stash of gold reportedly worth €9 million (US$10.4 million).",
  "key_points": [
    "Construction workers in Dendermonde, Belgium, discovered $10M+ in gold on August 11.",
    "Workers found 50 gold bars and coins during renovation of CAW East-Flanders building.",
    "€9M worth of gold secured in high-security federal government vault."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The unexpected discovery of a multimillion-dollar treasure changes the fate of a routine construction project, with authorities now scrambling to determine the rightful owner of the valuable find.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}