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Navy divers find and detonate WW2 British air force bomb off Italian coast

The Local Italy
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Navy divers find and detonate WW2 British air force bomb off Italian coast
Photo: Marina Militare

The navy divers were called to take care of an unexploded bomb near a beach beside the city of Taranto, in the southeast corner of Italy.

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The 100-pound airplane bomb was first spotted by a beachgoer who alerted the local coast guard on Saturday, August 26th.

Beach life was cut short and the coast was soon shut down. A specialist unit of divers from the Italian navy was then called in to deal with the explosive device.

Photo: Marina Militare. 

The divers found the bomb 20 metres from the shoreline, at a depth of 6 metres.

Photo: Marina Militare.

Practically attached to the coral, the unexploded weapon was a British air force bomb from World War II, reports Italian news agency Ansa. 

Photo: Marina Militare. 

The explosive device was found near Campomarino, near the Apulian city of Taranto – southwest Italy – one of the busiest tourist beaches in the area. 

The bomb was then detonated in a safe location in open sea. 

 
Photo: Marina Militare. 
 
Such finds are not uncommon for the cohort of divers. Last year, the same unit destroyed more than 12,400 explosive remains from the second world war.
 
This year nearly 11,000 more have been neutralized in Italian rivers, lakes, or the sea. 
 
All holidaymakers who see a strange object while swimming at sea are advised to remain vigilant and not to touch it. 
 

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