On Monday, 18 July, operations began involving the 41st Demining Team of the Diver-Miners Group from Świnoujście and the Bolesławiec Bomb Disposal Patrol of the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment. The reason? During recreational diving in an inactive, flooded basalt quarry in Złotoryja, an unexploded ordnance item was found.
The officers’ work is made more difficult by the fact that the body of water reaches a maximum depth of approximately 40 metres, and also because the person who noticed the dangerous object did not indicate exactly where it was located. The diver-miners are checking the reservoir, while the bomb-disposal specialists are searching the banks.
On 19 July, three dangerous objects had already been located. Today, they are to be retrieved remotely using buoyancy pontoons and handed over to the Bolesławiec bomb-disposal specialists, who will neutralise them.
The operation itself may continue until Thursday. As staff warrant officer Radosław Mazur, commander of the Bolesławiec Bomb Disposal Patrol, explains, the inactive quarry in Złotoryja is an isolated location. What is more, combat operations took place in the nearby fields during World War II, which means there may be many more explosive objects in Złotoryja’s “pond”. (The head of the Bolesławiec bomb-disposal team remembers that three years ago, at a similar site near Lwówek Śląski, diver-miners found... more than 130 unexploded ordnance items, including an anti-tank mine that had to be detonated underwater.)
As reported on its Facebook profile by Patrol Saperski Bolesławiec:
Our page is dedicated to educating the public about the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance, misfired ammunition, and explosive and dangerous objects of military origin, as well as the rules to follow after finding them.
It is important to be aware that explosives used in military technology are, in practice, completely resistant to weather conditions and retain their explosive properties regardless of their production date.
The bomb-disposal specialists add:
If you have any doubts about an object you have found, call the bomb-disposal specialists.
The bomb-disposal specialists will remove the danger; they are properly trained and equipped to do so.
What should you do if you find unexploded ordnance or a misfired round?
- Do not touch the object.
- Secure the area from bystanders, such as children, and mark it.
- Report the matter immediately by calling the emergency number 112; notify the police, municipal police, fire service or forestry service.