Bomb disposal unit kept busy in 2014
The physical marks of World War II continue to be felt in Estonia, where the South Estonia bomb disposal unit alone, one of four such units in Estonia, destryoed a total of 1,262 old explosives and 19,000 bullets last year.
Most of the explosives were found during renovation work at old farm houses, well digging projects and during field and forest work.
The bomb disposal unit had to destroy explosives on 76 occasions last year, far more than in 2013 (54 times) and in 2012 (only 23 times).
The most difficult cases included a 250-kilogram aircraft bomb, which took three days of preparations to explode, and a 50-kilogram bomb in Valga County, the destruction of which needed careful planning so as not to harm the sensitive environment surrounding the area. In the town of Mustvee, on the coast of Lake Peipsi, amateur archeologists uncovered 74 explosives between the months of March and June last year, after locals asked them to survey the area for bombs.
The last major war to cross the Estonian landscape took place over 70 years ago, and according to the Rescue Board, the explosives from that era are becoming more dangerous as time goes by.
Editor: J.M. Laats