Last week, the country was shocked by the sad news of the deaths of two bomb disposal experts who had been involved in neutralizing unexploded ordnance. An explosion occurred at the time in a forest in Kuźnia Raciborska in Silesia. On October 17, the third member of the team died.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, police officers from Lwówek and bomb disposal experts from Bolesławiec once again intervened in connection with unexploded ordnance. One of these incidents was very dangerous and extremely irresponsible.

After 9:00 a.m., a resident of Kotliska (Lwówek County) called the 112 emergency number to report that he had found unexploded ordnance while doing fieldwork. An officer from the Non-Standing Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group of the District Police Headquarters in Lwówek Śląski was sent to the site. The police officer determined that it was a German 150 mm anti-concrete shell. The shell was neutralized by bomb disposal experts from Clearance Patrol No. 23 of the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment in Bolesławiec.

The second case occurred after 2 p.m. in Gryfów Śląski. “This report was already very worrying,” says asp. szt. Mateusz Królak, press officer for the Lwówek police. “The man reported that two days earlier he had found unexploded ordnance, most likely from World War II, and, out of curiosity, had brought it to his place of residence.

The curious man mentioned above hid the find in… bushes in the yard beside an apartment building.

A police patrol was sent there immediately. Bomb disposal experts from Bolesławiec also arrived at the scene as a matter of urgency. “Fortunately, the artillery shell was secured without any surprises,” adds the spokesperson for the District Police Headquarters in Lwówek Śląski. “But such irresponsible behavior shocked both the police officers and the soldiers.

The uniformed officers appeal:

If you find an object resembling unexploded ordnance, you must immediately inform the operator of the 112 emergency number. Secure the area against access by bystanders, especially children, then move to a safe distance and wait for the services to arrive.

They also add:

No one, not even specialists, can predict how unexploded ordnance will react or whether it will explode, often with tragic consequences. That is why the initial stage of securing the site where it was found is so important.