WWI Grenade Safely Removed from River Soča

20. 08. 2013

WWI Grenade Safely Removed from River Soča


A 350-kilogramme cannon grenade from the First World War was safely removed from the river Soča on Friday after some 35 locals were evacuated as a precaution.


The Italian-made 305/17 grenade was spotted some ten days ago during a rescue operation, the STA was told by Darko Zonič of the national unit for unexploded ordnance.

 

To make sure the grenade is taken out of the water where it rested almost 100 years, a group of not only divers but also firefighters, policemen and paramedics took part.

 

 

 

According to Zonič, everything went smoothly and according to plans, with no passers-by sneaking around as the police from the Slovenian and Italian sides of the border did a good job.

 

He admitted though that problems could have arisen while the grenade was still in water as "Soča is known as a violent white water whose laws should be respected".

 

Soča was the site of the toughest WWI fights where Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire fought between June 1915 to October 1917. The Soča Front or the Iszonzo Front as is known in world history, the fights claimed the lives of some 300,000 soldiers in addition to many local civilians.

 

Source: Slovenia Times

 

WWI Grenade Safely Removed from River Soča