Navy divers destroy 313 explosive devices in Cassibile (Sr)

(To Marina Militare)
30/06/18

From the 25 to the 29 June 2018 the Navy divers belonging to the SDAI Core (Sminamento Difesa Antidizzi Insidiosi) of Augusta are back in the province of Syracuse to conduct an underwater operation, carried out in the waters of Cassibile, aimed at destroying 313 explosive devices and 1.500 ammunition of portable weapons dating back to the last world war.

The prefecture of Syracuse has requested the urgent intervention of the operators of Comsubin following the reporting of a bather who, at 20 meters from the coast and only 3 meters deep, had seen artifacts related to war remnants. When they arrived at the site, divers from the Operating Group Underwater (GOS) dived to reclaim the area that had been subject to an interdiction ban by the Port Authority of Syracuse, identifying and neutralizing 158 hand grenades, 29 mortar bombs, 126 medium and large caliber bullets and 1.500 ammunition for small arms.

At the end of the operation, the commander of the SDAI nucleus of Augusta, lieutenant of vessel Marco Presti, declared: "On the basis of the request of the prefecture of Syracuse, we intervened in Cassibile to search for the objects reported and to carry out their recognition. At the end of the operations in a small area of ​​the seabed we removed a total of 313 very dangerous explosive devices and 1.500 ammunition for portable weapons, all dating back to the Second World War, which we destroyed according to the consolidated techniques aimed at preserving the marine ecosystem in a safety zone identified by the Maritime Authority.

I would like to recommend to people on holiday by the sea, who should come across artifacts with shapes similar to those of an explosive device or parts of it, not to touch or tamper with them in any way, immediately reporting their discovery to the local Harbor Master's Office or to the most nearby carabinieri station, to allow us to intervene and restore the safety conditions of our waters".

These interventions represent one of the many activities that the marine divisions conduct to safeguard public safety, also performed in inland waters, as reiterated by the Decree of the Ministry of Defense of 28 February 2017, carrying out high-risk diving operations aimed at restoring the conditions safety of bathing and navigation.

Last year, the divers of the Italian Navy recovered and destroyed a total of 22.000 explosive devices residual from the war, while from 1 January 2018 they have already neutralized 11.090 from the Italian seas, rivers and lakes, not counting the 16.311 bullets of caliber below 12,7 XNUMX mm also removed and destroyed.

With a history of 169 years behind, the Palombari represent national excellence in the field of underwater activities, being able to conduct diving work up to 1.500 meters of depth and in any operational scenarios, within the scope of its school tasks (relief to the crews of the underwater divers and the neutralization of explosive ordnance found in maritime environments) and in favor of the community.

Due to these peculiarities the divers of the other armed forces and armed bodies of the State can be formed exclusively from the School Group of Comsubin which, through dedicated training courses, enables them to conduct shallow water dives according to their respective skills.