50 YEAR TIME CAPSULE DISAPPOINTS THE CROWD

Workers unearthing the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried under the city's courthouse lawn were dealt an early setback Wednesday, as several feet of water were found in the concrete vault supposedly strong enough to withstand a nuclear attack.

This two-door 1957 Plymouth Belvedere was buried in 1957 to celebrate Oklahoma's 50 years of statehood. It was set to be lifted out of its 12-foot-by-20-foot time capsule Friday morning to commemorate the state's centennial year but things didnt't work out so well. As many as 50,000 people from all over the world were expected at the event, and more than 260 media credentials were handed out but what happened next was tragic.



The vault was flooded with water and hazardous materials crews were on hand to inspect the site for potential dangers and to inspect the 10 gallons of gasoline and motor oil cans that had been placed in the time capsule - just in case internal combustion engines became obsolete by 2007.

Excavators found water halfway up on the car's fenders and more evidence water could have been to the top of the vault at one point, said Art Couch, who is heading up the unearthing project.

``The concrete must not have been as good as we hoped it was,'' Couch said. ``It had some failures over the years; the concrete didn't hold.''

The Belvedere was wrapped in a protective plastic material before it was buried, but it was unknown how it held up against the elements.