ERKELENZ (dpa-AFX) - Five days after the eviction of Lützerath began, two remaining climate activists have left an underground tunnel under the settlement. This was observed by a dpa reporter on Monday. The activists in the tunnel were considered the last occupants of Lützerath.

The evacuation of the village on the edge of the Garzweiler open pit lignite mine can thus be considered almost complete. The police had already declared on Sunday that the eviction had been completed

- except for the two activists in the tunnel. Initially, it was not possible to foresee

how long it would take to get them out of the underground passage. RWE 's plant fire department had taken over the operation, which was described as a "rescue."

A video of two hooded people on the Youtube platform had caused a stir since Thursday. "Pinky" and "Brain" claimed in it to be in the tunnel under Lützerath. The tunnel is a very effective form of defense against eviction, they argued. It is much more difficult to clear a tunnel than, say, a tree house, they said. Police had said they had evidence that the video was authentic.

The village of Lützerath, a district of Erkelenz west of Cologne, has been sealed off by police for days and surrounded by a double fence. The few buildings in the settlement are being demolished to allow energy company RWE to excavate the brown coal underneath.

However, resistance to the demolition and the planned removal of the coal had formed in the days and weeks before. Activists had barricaded themselves in tree houses and buildings in order to preserve Lützerath. Hundreds had then been taken away by the police in the course of the eviction or had left the protest village voluntarily./idt/DP/stk