Scorched landscapes across Europe have exposed a potentially lethal threat lurking underground.
Rusted bombs and mines from the First and Second World Wars are now endangering emergency crews responding to wildfires across the continent.
High heat has caused several weapons to explode in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. In the Dutch province of Limburg, a bomb disposal team was called out to inspect woodland near the site of heavy 1944 combat threatened by flames.
Read more…
Source: Independent
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- UK: Unexploded ordnance on Cornwall beach ‘made safe’
March 4, 2024
Police said an item of unexploded ordnance found by a member of the pubic on a Cornwall beach has been made safe. Devon and Cornwall Police said they were called at about 11:15 GMT on Sunday to Widemouth Bay in Bude. Officers put a 300m (985ft) cordon in place and said it did not affect homes ...
- Europe battles gunpowder shortage amid Ukraine war
March 3, 2024
Hard-to-find gunpowder is hindering Europe’s scramble to provide hundreds of thousands of shells for Ukraine’s defensive effort against Russian invaders, with solutions only starting to emerge. Gunpowder goes into propellant charges that hurl artillery shells — such as the NATO-standard 155mm projectiles used in many guns sent to Ukraine — over distances of tens of kilometers. ...
- In-situ comparison of high-order detonations and low-order deflagration methodologies for underwater UXO disposal
February 29, 2024
The unexploded ordnance (UXO) on the seabed off Northwest Europe poses a hazard to offshore developments such as windfarms. The traditional removal method is through high-order detonation of a donor explosive charge placed adjacent to the UXO, which poses a risk of injury or death to marine mammals and other fauna from the high sound levels ...
- Ukraine: Bomb disposal experts destroy Russian 500-kilogramme bomb
February 29, 2024
On 28 February, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine received a report of an explosive item found in a field in one of the settlements of Zaporizhzhia Oblast on its emergency number. Upon arrival at the scene, bomb disposal experts identified the munition as an unexploded 500-kilogramme high explosive air-launched bomb (FAB-500). The difficulty in seizing ...
- Germany sends new package of military aid to Ukraine, including ammunition
February 27, 2024
Germany is sending equipment and weapons to Ukraine: the new package of military assistance includes 14,000 of 155 mm artillery ammunition, four WISENT 1 mine clearing vehicles; three mobile remote-controlled and protected mine clearance systems; some 250 demining kits, the German government said on its website on Monday. According to the published updated list of military ...
- Northern Ireland: Three men arrested after ‘pipe bomb type device’ found
February 26, 2024
Detectives from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch have arrested three men in connection with an ongoing security alert in the Dungiven area. Police said they have recovered a “viable pipe bomb type device”. The device was found in the Curragh Road area of the Co Derry town on Sunday. “Detectives conducted a number of searches at ...
- Irish de-mining equipment has arrived in Ukraine
February 26, 2024
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that Irish de-mining equipment has arrived in Ukraine in the past few weeks and Ireland was helping Ukraine to use it. A Government spokesperson said that two mine-clearing vehicles, known as mine flail units, had arrived in Ukraine and that Irish defence personnel had been training Ukrainian troops on operating the ...
- Denmark drops investigation into Nord Stream pipeline blasts
February 26, 2024
Denmark has dropped its investigation into the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany, becoming the second country to do so after Sweden closed a separate inquiry. The multibillion-dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of blasts in the Swedish ...
- UK: Controlled explosion in Derby after suspected WW2 device found in River Derwent
February 25, 2024
A controlled explosion has been carried out in Derby after a device was found in the River Derwent. A 100m cordon was in place and Derwent Street and Exeter Bridge were closed as Derbyshire Police and the bomb squad worked to establish the circumstances around the suspected WW2 device. Read more… Source: ITV News
- Northern Ireland: Woman found with bullets and balaclavas sentenced for terrorism offences
February 25, 2024
A woman who was found with bullets, balaclavas and instructions on how to build a bomb has been sentenced for terrorism offences in Co. Antrim. Jennifer Lennox was found with 118 bullets, 54 balaclavas and a bomb-making guide when PSNI officers raided a premises in Ballymoney in November 2021. PSNI Detective Inspector Lavery explained: “Following a ...
- UK: Unexploded bomb in Plymouth safely removed during complex disposal operation and major evacuation
February 23, 2024
A 500kg bomb discovered in the back garden of a residential property in Plymouth, which prompted one of the largest evacuation operations since the end of the Second World War, has been safely removed by bomb disposal experts from the British Army and Royal Navy. Around 30 of the Armed Forces’ most experienced bomb disposal specialists ...
- UK: Plymouth residents choose to stay put in face of German bomb threat
February 23, 2024
Some residents are refusing to leave their homes in Plymouth despite the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb that has led to more than 1,000 properties evacuated in the city. Thousands of people have been asked to leave their residences after a 1,102lb German bomb was unearthed in a garden on Tuesday. An initial ...
- Ukraine lost M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle outside Avdiivka
February 22, 2024
Ukraine has lost only a few armored vehicles in its grueling defensive fight in—and now outside of—Avdiivka, a former Ukrainian stronghold just northwest of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. But a few doesn’t mean none. And one of the losses is especially painful for the Ukrainian army. A Russian drone video that circulated online on Thursday depicts ...
- UK: Man pleads guilty to Gosport explosives offence
February 21, 2024
A man who detonated a low explosive device in the presence of police officers has admitted the offence in court. Police attended an address in Carr Court, Davenport Close, shortly before 10am on 28 August last year to arrest 54-year-old Damian Mazurkiewicz for an unrelated matter. Attending officers entered the address where they found Mazurkiewicz holding ...
- NATO supports Ukrainian development of remote mine detection systems
February 21, 2024
The NATO program “Science for Peace and Security” will support the MinesEye project to create effective systems for remote detection of mines and unexploded ordnance. Ukrainian developers from the charitable foundation “Progress Foundation” initiated the idea and basic development of the project. Domestic and foreign scientists, mine action operators (MAOs), including experts from the State Emergency ...