Mysterious “Gaza Style” tunnel discovered near Toronto stadium

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Toronto Police confirmed the existence of a mysterious underground chamber near York University Monday, after a CBC report raised the specter of an attack on the upcoming Pan Am Games.

The tunnel, described by CBC as “sophisticated” and tall enough for an adult to walk through, was discovered near the York campus in the woods just outside the Rexall Center stadium, which will play host to the Pan Am tennis events this summer.

According to the National Post, police acknowledged that a tunnel had been found, but revealed few other details. Const. Victor Kwong, spokesman for the Toronto Police, said that the structure was originally found by a Toronto and Region Conservation Authority employee.

After lifting a sheet of aluminum, the employee saw the entrance to a reinforced tunnel, which ran about seven meters long (about 22 feet) and 2.5 (about 8 feet) meters deep beneath the ground.

No conspicuous piles of dirt could be seen around the entrance, according to CBC, indicating that its builders had taken pains to dispose of the soil at an offsite location. Given the size of the tunnel, it would have required the removal of several metric tons of soil.

The chamber had a ceiling and walls reinforced with what appears to be wood beams in CBC footage. Authorities have released no details about any telltale objects in the tunnel that may have indicated its purpose. However, there were tools inside, as well as a gasoline-powered electric generator and lights.

Register to iHLS Israel Homeland Security

It has since been filled in, and poses no threat “at this point,” according to police.

The typical use for an illegal tunnel – at least in North America – is to smuggle drugs or to get felons out of prison. Neither use appears to have been feasible with the York University tunnel. In addition, if the intent of the structure was to clandestinely bore underneath the Rexall Center grounds for some reason, it was in an odd location to do so. The tunnel was located quite a distance from the stadium itself, and is still more than a dozen meters (nearly 40 feet) from the venue’s open-air tennis courts.

Given the complex construction of the tunnel, it would have conceivably taken weeks of work and thousands of dollars in building materials just to access a relatively innocuous portion of the grounds.

The tunnel was first discovered about six weeks ago, immediately prompting a thorough police investigation that did not become public until CBC was tipped off.

National security investigators have reportedly been notified of the find. Given the international nature of the Pan Am games – and the rarity of the find – word of the discovery soon made international headlines.