The Army defuses a bomb in Palestrina

(To Army Majority State)
23/09/19

At the request of the prefecture of Rome, Army bomb squads defused an American 250 pound bomb, or about 120 kg, dating back to World War II.

The bomb had been found in agricultural land, adjacent to the town of Palestrina and to the important communication artery via Prenestina; the competent authorities immediately activated the specialists of the 6th pioneering engineering regiment of Rome, responsible for the defusing activities for the preliminary surveys and the safety of the area.

The operations, coordinated by the prefecture of Rome, started at 07: 30 with the complete evacuation of over 4.000 citizens, residents in the municipalities of Palestrina and Zagarolo within 1.600 m from the point of discovery of the bomb. At 12: 00, the Army bomb squad team began disengaging the fuses. In about an hour, the bomb technicians removed both mechanical devices, in order to render the bomb harmless and to be able to transport it safely to a location near Palestrina for subsequent blasting. The operations ended at 16: 30 with the complete destruction of the bomb.

During the year the Army specialists conducted about 1.350 interventions on bombs and other remnants of war, with almost four hundred defuses in the regions of Lazio and Abruzzo under the jurisdiction of the 6 ° pioneer genius regiment. In the last ten years the reclamations carried out by the Army bomb squads over the whole national territory are over 35.000, moreover the Army is the only Armed Force in charge of the formation and updating of the bombers of the Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the State.

Today's activity was carried out by the Army, in cooperation with local administrations, thanks to the capabilities of its departments, which are able to operate not only for strictly military purposes, but also in favor of the community in the event of public disasters or for the reclamation of the territory from the remnants of war.