't Haantje (Coevorden)

't Haantje (the Little Rooster), pop. 230, is a small village in the Netherlands. It is situated northwest of Emmen and is part of the municipality of Coevorden. It lies along the Oranjekanaal, between Noord-Sleen and Klijndijk.

't Haantje was founded in the latter half of the 19th century, when peat labourers spontaneously settled there. On December 1, 1965, the village barely escaped a disaster. A French company working for the N.A.M. was drilling for gas, and started to lose control of the enormous gas pressure. During the afternoon, this resulted in a huge gas eruption. The ground around the hole caved in - swallowing all of the drilling equipment. The gas eruption was eventually stopped by a cement injection from a new drilling hole. A small lake surrounded by a forest forms a permanent reminder of this event.

External links

* [http://www.coevorden.nl/show/id=84810 't Haantje]