Vigilance in Schirgiswalde: Combat flares discovered in the Spree!

Vigilance in Schirgiswalde: Combat flares discovered in the Spree!

Last Sunday, an attentive walker in Schirgiswalde discovered a suspicious object that immediately triggered an alarm for the police. The first assumption was that it could be ammunition. A team from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service arrived and determined that the object found was a combat flare. Such flares are used to illuminate battlefields in the dark and can come from various types of military ammunition, including mortar shells and artillery shells. Depending on the model, they can glow for between ten and sixty seconds, some even up to a minute, even underwater. The specialists safely took the combat flare and it is suspected that this find is connected to contaminated sites from the Second World War, reports Sächsische.de.

The challenge of explosive ordnance disposal is not limited to Schirgiswalde. In many regions of Germany, particularly where heavy fighting took place during the Second World War, numerous unexploded bombs are still hidden in the ground. One such region is Oranienburg in Brandenburg, which is considered one of the most important centers for explosive ordnance disposal. Since the fall of communism alone, the city has neutralized over 200 unexploded bombs and it is believed that around 300 are still in the city area. reports Focus.de.

Costs and challenges of removal

Disposing of explosive ordnance is a costly undertaking. In Oranienburg, an annual budget of three million euros is planned for bomb disposal; in 2017 it was even four million. Given the financing problems, many cities are struggling to finance their social infrastructure projects such as daycare centers and schools. Defusing a single bomb alone can cost up to 100,000 euros. It is therefore not surprising that the federal and state governments must work together to shoulder the financial burden of explosive ordnance clearance. So far, around 360 million euros have been spent on explosive ordnance disposal in Brandenburg, of which 103 million euros were spent specifically on Oranienburg. However, the exact amount of federal funding for these projects is still unclear, says Focus.de.

Explosive ordnance disposal in Germany is divided into two areas: civil and military. The challenges are diverse, as defusing not only requires technical expertise, but also thorough historical exploration and risk assessment. This is done through the use of archival materials, aerial photographs and, if necessary, on-site investigations. The ground situation and the deep locations of the weapons used must also be taken into account. The goal is clear: to avoid secondary damage and to completely render all weapons harmless, which often represents a major challenge. as Wikipedia explains.

The recent discovery in Schirgiswalde is another example of the many challenges associated with explosive ordnance disposal. Even though a lot of progress has been made, the work in many affected regions remains an ongoing task that must be mastered with a lot of effort and commitment.