The tunnel was discovered a month ago, however authorities only recently released information.   In the woods near the venue for the 2015 Pan Am games, a Canadian conservation worker stumbled upon a piece of sheet metal.  When she lifted the metal she discovered a big hole, it was a tunnel’s entrance.

Canadian authorities are somewhat playing down the discovery.   However, the scope and sophistication of the tunnel reflects this was being constructed with a very specific intention in mind.   Curiouser, and curiouser….

(CNN)—A big hole in the ground discovered near a venue for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto has stumped authorities looking into it.

The mysterious tunnel measured more than 6 feet in height, nearly 3 feet in width and about 33 feet in length, Toronto Police Deputy Chief Mark Saunders told reporters Tuesday.

Plywood walls were reinforced with wooden supports. The tunnel was 10 feet underground, with a ladder leading down to the chamber.

[…] The discovery of the tunnel — which was made by a conservation officer last month, but disclosed Tuesday — comes amid heightened concerns about terrorism in Canada and beyond.

[…] The tunnel was equipped with electricity supplied by a generator, a sump pump to remove water and a pulley system to remove dirt, Saunders said. It likely took more than one person to dig it out by hand. Ice that formed at the end of a hose attached to the sump pump indicates that the tunnel may have been used this winter.

“This was built with a considerable amount of sophistication,” Saunders said. “The individuals responsible for building it clearly had some expertise in structural integrity.”

Police also found a gas can, food and beverage containers, work gloves, a wheel barrow and moisture-resistant light bulbs in the tunnel, which has been filled in. Its entrance was concealed by dirt over a wood lid.

“We don’t know whether someone is building one somewhere else,” Saunders said. “I’m open to anything right now.”

The Pan American Games, which take place from July 10 to July 26, involve nearly 7,000 athletes from Latin America, South America, the Caribbean and North America. It is the third largest international sports competition after the Olympic Summer Games and the Asian Games. (read more)  [<– video at link]