Unexploded shell shuts Tallinn airport for hours
An old unexploded shell was found during digging work near Tallinn airport, prompting authorities to close the airport for a few hours until the shell was destroyed.
Bomb disposal units got the call on Tuesday at 17:00. By 21:00 the bomb had been destroyed.
As the one-meter-long bomb was in a bad shape, transportation to a detonation area was out of the question. The shell was detonated on site a little before 21:00.
A total of seven flights to Tallinn had to be redirected and five aircraft were late to lift off.
In what was a very busy day for bomb disposal experts, a grenade was deactivated in Viljandi County, a 45 millimeter shell was found in Viru County, and a 37 millimeter shell and a 210 millimeter shell in two different places in Harju County. Five shells and other ammunition was found in Jõgeva County.
However, Tuesday was nothing out of the ordinary for the bomb squad. Nearly 70 years after World War II, munitions are still turning up in large quantities in the Estonian countryside.
Editor: J.M. Laats