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Photo: Wikikorps, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
France, the fourth country to produce a nuclear weapon conducted some of their early tests in Sahara as much of Western Africa still was a French colony into the 1960s. On May 1, 1962 an underground test at In Eker went wrong and observers including soldiers and government officials were exposed to radiation. If you happen to drive north-south across Sahara along the road from Algiers to Tamanrasset, you will pass right next to the area.
In Eker is a village in the commune of In Amguel, in Tamanrasset District, Tamanrasset Province, Algeria. It lies on the N1 national highway 39 kilometres (24 mi) north of In Amguel and 145 kilometres (90 mi) north of Tamanrasset city.
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