The Army engineers working in the Castel Maggiore (BO) railway engineering regiment defused two war devices, found during the works for the construction of the road network in the Municipality of Casalecchio di Reno.
The bombs, two "twin" aircraft bombs, weighing about 500 pounds (equal to 243 kg), made in the United States, were found in poor conditions of conservation still active. The operations were directed and coordinated by the prefecture of Bologna and by the North operational forces command of Padua and took place in three phases: initially a temporary protection structure was built on the site of discovery, around each bomb, to mitigate the effects due to an accidental explosion; subsequently the bombs were neutralized by removing the trigger systems and detonating the two aircraft bombs.
The creation of the protective structures has made it possible to reduce the risk deriving from the effects of any accidental explosions, reducing the inconvenience for the population. This goal is the result of a long experimentation activity carried out by the C-IED center of excellence of the Army in collaboration with the University of Rome "La Sapienza".
To guarantee an adequate security framework, during the operations to remove the trigger systems, both the Bologna - Porretta Terme railway line and the A1 motorway and some municipal roads adjacent to the area where the bomb was found were closed to traffic.
The experience of the specialists of the Castel Maggiore Army is demonstrated by the over 150 interventions carried out since the beginning of the year, in their area of competence (Marche, Umbria and in the provinces of Bologna, Forlì Cesena, Rimini and Florence) as well as a profitable contribution given in the discovery and subsequent destruction of about 40 devices found following the flood that hit Emilia Romagna in the month of May.
