The receding waters of the Italian Po River reveal a bomb from World War II
Not only were the heat waves sweeping Europe this summer, with record temperatures and scorched fields, the waters in Italy's drought-stricken Po River receded to the point where a World War II bomb remained underwater.
Military experts neutralized it and then carried out on Sunday a controlled detonation of the 450-kilogram bomb that was found on July 25 near the village of Borgo Virgilio in the north of the country near the city of Mantua.
"The bomb was found by fishermen on the bank of the Po River due to a shortage in water levels caused by drought," Colonel Marco Naci said.
Getting rid of the bomb was not easy.
About 3,000 people living nearby were evacuated to complete the disposal of the bomb, according to the army.
The airspace in the area was closed, navigation in the section of the river where the bomb was located, traffic on the railway line and a nearby road were stopped.
"At first some residents said they would not leave their homes, but in the last few days I think we have managed to convince everyone," said Francesco Aporte, mayor of Borgo Virgilio, adding that the operations would not have taken place if the people had refused to evacuate.
Bomb experts removed the fuse from the US-made bomb, which the military said contained 240 kilograms of explosive.
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