West Honiara, Solomon IslandsAn unexploded ordnance (UXO) believed to be a relic of World War II detonated, causing a large bang and injuring one person. The blast occurred near the Scripture Union building on Lengakiki road, across from the rugby field, and is thought to have been triggered by a nearby fire. The injured victim was rushed to the National Referral Hospital and is in stable condition. Police and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) immediately cordoned off the area for investigation and clearance of any further UXOs, leading to traffic diversions.

The incident underscores the ongoing danger of unexploded ordnance in the Solomon Islands. The RSIPF EOD Unit has already disposed of 6,121 UXOs across the country in 2024, demonstrating the scale of the problem.

Thames Valley, England The Thame Magnet Fishing group pulled up an old military munition in Sunnymead Park prompting an EOD response. According to Thames Valley Police, Zoe Hunter, captured the grenade, while group member Darren Schaefer found a WWI revolver.

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Malta The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) safely removed a German WWII-era air-dropped UXO discovered by construction crew conducting an excavation. AFM's EOD Platoon, 3rd Regiment, with support from their Conventional Munitions Disposal (CMD) Engineers, neutralized the munition without incident.

The AFM reminded members of the public to always stay cautious with the following directives: Do NOT move or tamper with suspicious items. Photos are fine, but don't disturb the object. Call 112 immediately. When in doubt, always treat any suspicious item as unexploded ordnance and follow these safety steps.

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GBubczyce, Poland Two men were hospitalized after a WWII artillery shell they found in the woods and brought home exploded. The men and a woman were discovered in an apartment after police responded to a report that a window had been damaged in the building.

Noticing extensive damage to the apartment building including a hole in the floor and a window which was blow out from the inside, police suspected an explosion. Bomb-sniffing dogs and a bomb-disposal team was called to the scene as 36 residents from the building were evacuated.

A woman at the apartment along with the two men hurt in the blast were given sobriety tests and found to have blood alcohol levels far beyond Poland's legal drunk-driving limit.

Both men were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and finally admitted to the police after extensive questioning that they found an ordnance item in the woods and decided to bring it to the apartment when it exploded.

The two men and lucky to be alive and are expected to recover from their injuries. Police issued a reminder that anyone who finds unexploded historical ordnance to contact the authorities immediately and never to attempt to handle the items.

El Dorado County, California Retired Marine Corps diver Michael Clough was clearing trash from Fallen Leaf Lake, just south of Lake Tahoe, when he picked up what appeared to be bean can. The 76-year-old scuba diver periodically works to clear the area of litter, but this dive yielded more than garbage.

"It was corroded and there were threads on it at one time," Clough said. "I thought it could be mercury. They used it up here in the mines a lot."

Knowing that he should not put mercury in the trash or recycling, he held onto it for a few months. He said that despite the fact he did not believe it was any type of explosive, he brought it to the Lake Tahoe Historical Museum.

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The Netherlands A routine onion delivery from France to a factory in the northern Dutch province of Zeeland became cause for alarm when Dutch authorities discovered two hand grenades hidden among a crate of onions.

The grenades, dating from 1925, were examined by ordnance personnel who concluded, "The projectiles were identified to be consistent with pre-1925 French and German manufactured old chemical weapons. However, the type of chemical fill could not be identified."

There is no answer as to how the devices ended up among the onions. They are slated to be destroyed, but since the Netherlands lacks a dedicated destruction facility for explosives, they will be transferred as toxic waste to the specialized chemical dismantling facility in Belgium.

Davis, West Virginia An unexploded ordnance found at Dolly Sods in the Monongahela National Forest was safely disposed of by West Virginia State Police, according to an alert put out by the Forest Service.

The suspected UXO was reported by a member of the public, and Forest Service officials confirmed the location and size of the item. First responders from Tucker and Grant counties and the West Virginia State Police responded to dispose of it.

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