AN underground bunker in a remote part of Scotland could be the last refuge for the world’s super-rich to ride out the apocalypse.
American company Terra Vivos is offering customers space in a series of bunkers designed to withstand nuclear explosions, tsunamis, asteroid hits or anything else Doomsday, expected 21 December this year, might throw up.
It is understood the group is interested in a disused Cold War bunker known as The Guard House in Bervie Brow, Aberdeenshire.
The disused military shelter consists of an innocuous-looking cottage above ground, but has a “James Bond-like” 9,000 square ft bunker underground.
The company’s bid to buy a former army camp at Cultybraggan in Perthshire fell through last year.
A spokeswoman for Terra Vivos, which bills itself as a “modern day Noah’s Ark”, said: “The Cultybraggan bunker was turned down for a number of reasons, including its lack of fortification and government intervention.
“We are continuing our search for qualified sites in Scotland, as well as, as well as a critical mass of members for co-ownership of the anticipated Vivos shelter there.”
As anyone who has seen the John Cusack film 2012 knows, the ancient Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world will happen this year.
The spokeswoman continued: “With the end of the Mayan calendar on 21 December 2012, the potentially disastrous conditions appear to be lining up for the perfect storm over the coming years.
“The ripple effect will have a catastrophic toll on those who do not have a survival shelter.”
Other possible sites in Scotland have included the bunker at Barnton Quarry in Edinburgh, which was used by RAF Fighter Command in the Second World War.
But The Guard House, may be a more attractive proposition because of its remoteness.
Built 60ft underground during the early days of the Cold War, it was put on sale in 2010 as a “unique property” with an asking price of over £250,000.
The property, which is still up for sale, is described as “like something out of the film Dr No.”
If Terra Vivos purchase the property for their worried clientele, a place in the bunker could cost $50,000 for and adult and $35,000 for a child.
A family of four would have to raise £110,000 in order to be considered for a place, and they would have to pass an assessment.
Terra Vivos has not yet narrowed down the cause of the end of the world, but is hedging its bets and preparing bunkers to withstand a variety of disasters.
Nuclear blasts, biological war, social anarchy, solar flares, electro-magnetic pulses and 500mph winds should, it is hoped, pose no immediate threat to people sheltering in Terra Vivos bunkers.
The Earth being struck by the undiscovered planet Nibiru or swallowed by a black hole, polar shifts and massive solar flares has all been put forward as possible causes of the apocalypse.
Terra Vivos was founded by US businessman Robert Vicino in 2008, who envisages a global network of bunkers populated by the “chosen few” who will ride out the disaster.
Shelter
He has already built a Level 5 nuclear shelter for 80 people in Indiana which can withstand a 20 megaton hydrogen bomb.
The company’s website adds: “The accepted solution to most of the threat scenarios is to find underground shelter.
“The Governments of the world have been busy building vast underground shelter complexes for the elite.
“What do they know? The rest of us are on our own.”
