Croatian authorities halted traffic, blasted emergency sirens and evacuated part of the historic port city of Rijeka on Sunday so they could detonate a massive Nazi ship mine found still buried in the seabed.
Croatian police released videos of the complex and dangerous operation that showed divers fixing straps to the 1,500-pound piece of aged World War II ordnance so it could be moved.
Another video showed the distant explosion of the device that sent a tremendous plume of seawater skyward.
The anti-ship mine was found in June near the port on the Adriatic Sea.
Officials moved it further away from the city before detonating it with a special police unit.
Police Officer Nenad Krasny said the mine contained huge quantities of explosives.
The Nazi-laid mine had laid buried in the seabed since World War II. CCTN
Divers moved the mine before detonation because it was too close to the city. CCTNAbout 500 residents were evacuated during the operation, according to CGTNEurope.
Two dozen people took part in the detonation, which was delicately carried out, Krasny said. Anything else “would be too dangerous for the citizens and the infrastructure,” he said.
Historic Rijeka, which sits perched on the nation’s northwest corner, is known as Croatia’s principal seaport and its third-largest city.
Croatian authorities blew up a World War II anti-ship mine Sunday. Australian War Memorial/Wikimedia Commons
A plume of seawater rocketed skyward when police blew the anti-ship mine. CCTN
Croatian police released videos of the dangerous operation. CCTNThe Axis powers occupied the city for much of World War II, and the city suffered heavy damage from the conflict.
Workers found the Nazi-laid mine while they were doing port infrastructure work, CGTNEurope said.
With Post wires
