Leaking car pulled from Vantaa river after decades underwater

A car leaking oil was removed from the Vantaa river in Helsinki on Tuesday afternoon after possibly lying submerged for over 20 years, city officials reported.

The Helsinki Rescue Department confirmed oil had spread across a wide area, prompting an urgent recovery operation. The vehicle was located on the border of the Oulunkylä and Pukinmäki districts, resting at a depth of 5–7 metres in the river’s steep-banked channel.

Divers assisted in the operation, which began near Ratavallinpolku path around 13:00 and took approximately two hours to complete. Authorities suspect the car had been in the river for an extended period, though the exact circumstances of its submersion remain unclear.