![]() ![]() Experienced explorers are very cautious inside active utility tunnels since pipes can spew boiling hot water or steam from leaky valves or pressure relief blow-offs. Most active steam tunnels do not contain airborne asbestos, but proper breathing protection may be required for other respiratory hazards. Most steam tunnels have large intake fans to bring in the fresh air and push the hot air out the back, and these may start without warning. Others have concrete floors, bright light, and more moderate temperatures. Some steam tunnels have dirt floors, poor lighting and temperatures above 45 ☌ (113 ☏). This practice was once called "vadding" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but students there now call it roof and tunnel hacking. Nevertheless, many of these steam tunnels, especially those on college campuses, have a tradition of exploration by students. These pipes are generally run through utility tunnels, which are often intended to be accessible solely for the purposes of maintenance. Universities, and other large institutions, such as hospitals, often distribute hazardous superheated steam for heating or cooling buildings from a central heating plant. Utility tunnel in the center of Zurich, Switzerland Ībandoned sites are also popular among historians, preservationists, architects, archaeologists, industrial archaeologists, and ghost hunters. ![]() Many explorers find the decay of uninhabited space profoundly beautiful, and some are also proficient freelance photographers who document what they see, such as those who document the infrastructure of the former USSR. Nowadays, it's popular for urban exploration, although it is risky due to the possibility of anti-personnel landmines being located in unexplored areas, remnants from 1990's Bosnian War. ![]() It was designed and built to sustain a direct hit from a 20- kiloton nuclear bomb, equivalent to that dropped on Nagasaki. It also housed a mess hall that could feed 1,000 people simultaneously, along with spaces for storing food, fuel and arms sufficient to last 30 days. capable in housing two full fighter squadrons, one reconnaissance squadron, and associated maintenance facilities, including an underground water source, power generators, crew quarters, and other strategic military facilities. The complex contains tunnels in total length of 3.5 km (2.2 mi), and the bunker with four entrances protected by 100-ton pressurized doors, three of which were customized for use by fixed-wing aircraft. ![]() It was the largest underground airport and military air base in the SFR Yugoslavia, and one of the largest in Europe. You'll be missed."įamily members from Middlesbrough and his employer have flown to Thailand.Ĭleveland police were informed today of the sudden death abroad of a 30-year-old Middlesbrough man who had been on business in Asia.Ī spokeswoman said: "Along with our colleagues from the British embassy and the Foreign Office, we have offered whatever support, advice and assistance we can to his family back home in Cleveland.In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a large underground facility abandoned since 1992 is Željava Air Base, situated under the Plješevica mountain, near the city of Bihać. I'm sorry we will never get the chance to do that. "He really was an inspirational guy, scared shitless of heights, yet he climbed that rope with no hesitation at all. He wrote: "We met two weeks ago and climbed to the shoulders of the Angel. But we will probably never know what had actually happened."įellow urban explorers shared stories of how they had joined Smith on climbs of the Angel of the North in Gateshead, Newport Bridge in Middlesbrough and the Temenos sculpture by the Tees.įorum member Skydiver said Smith, known to many as Solomon, climbed despite his fear of heights. He may of tried to climb out of his hotel after having some drinks to escape into town. One friend said: "It seems unlikely that Jim would of accidentally fallen from a height as many of you know he had a fairly good head for heights and he was not clumsy. Posts on the urban explorer website called 28 Days Later have suggested that Smith's death was a tragic accident. Urban exploration, which involves seeking out unusual buildings to investigate and photograph, has been gaining in popularity around the world over the past decade, despite the inherent risks involved in navigating often derelict and challenging surroundings. Jim Smith, 30, from Middlesbrough, was found in gardens below his fifth floor room in Bangkok on Monday in as yet unknown circumstances.įriends suspect that Smith, who was in Thailand on business, may have slipped while climbing in or out of the hotel where he was staying alone. ![]()
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