As we reported on Monday, June 21, nine objects resembling artillery shells were found during a pontoon rafting trip on the Kwisa River, in Łozy near Świętoszów. (The preliminary assessment put the caliber at at least 120 mm.) A 450-meter danger zone was established.
The matter was handled by soldiers from the Bolesławiec Bomb Disposal Patrol of the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment. At the time, we reported that it was unknown how long the operation would take. Other dangerous objects could have been lying in the river, buried in the sand itself. It was not ruled out that the Mine Divers Group from Świnoujście would be called to the scene.
A lot of fuss about very little
As it ultimately turned out, there was only one artillery shell in the river, a Soviet-made 122 mm round. What is more, it had already been fired. The other threatening-looking objects turned out to be... rollers from a gravel-pit conveyor belt.
However, as the bomb-disposal specialists emphasize, this was by no means a false alarm. Identifying the objects was very difficult because they were lying on the riverbed. In the initial phase of the operation, the bomb-disposal specialists themselves suspected that they might be unexploded ordnance.
The efforts of the soldiers from the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment were by no means wasted. The bomb-disposal specialists also cleared the river, removing around 100 metal objects from it.
Warning! The fact that these objects had been lying in the water does not mean that they are not dangerous. Quite the opposite—they are very well preserved and therefore remain dangerous. Several years ago, an experienced diver was killed in the river beneath a bridge when an antitank mine detonated.