It has been almost 79 years since the Second World War ended. Many of the countless bombs and hand grenades are still lying dormant on Austrian soil today. On Sunday, the Federal Ministry of Defense published the balance sheet of the demining service (EMD) for the previous year.
Last year, the specialists carried out an impressive 1,075 missions across Austria to recover the dangerous relics and render them harmless. The bottom line is that a total of more than 51 tons – exactly 51,292 kilograms – were recovered. These included 27.2 tons of infantry ammunition, 275 hand grenades, 17 rocket-propelled grenades and 45 aerial bombs. “As every year, the areas of operation were diverse: water bodies were included as well as forest areas, cities and alpine terrain,” says the ministry. 47 operations in the “Holy Land” mean seventh place. The “Holy Land” accounted for exactly 47 operations. In this country, 1.2 tons of the dangerous remains were recovered. “In the high alpine terrain of the Austrian-Italian border area, explosive war material is repeatedly reported, which is rendered harmless by the EMD alpine group. Even 100 years after the beginning of the mountain war, this ammunition has lost none of its original dangerousness.” With this balance, Tyrol ranks seventh compared to the other federal states. Lower Austria came first with 13.9 tons and 480 missions. Vorarlberg brings up the rear with seven missions and 226 kilograms of war material recovered. 19.1 tons destroyed by explosion “The EMD destroyed 19.1 tons of the recovered war material by explosion at the Federal Army’s blasting sites. Around six tons of infantry ammunition were annealed in a special kiln and the resulting ammunition scrap was recycled. Around 6.7 tons of war scrap was sent directly for final disposal. What was and was particularly challenging for the specialists was that 31 times they encountered ammunition that was not safe to handle and could not be transported safely. These parts had to be destroyed by blasting on site, i.e. outside of the Federal Army’s blasting sites. 125.9 kilograms of war material were rendered harmless. All explosions took place without any damage to property or people,” the ministry describes the challenges. The danger still exists. According to Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, “the demining specialists of the Austrian Armed Forces contribute every day to making Austria a little safer by removing war relics. Despite the end of the First and Second World Wars, there is still a considerable risk of finding such relics in Austria. If you come across a war relic, the experts advise the following: keep your distance, prevent people or animals from getting too close to the find and immediately contact the nearest police station.
source site-12