Special security measures in place as bomb is removed near Globoko

A 250-kilogram aircraft bomb found near Globoko has prompted a strict security operation, including evacuation and sheltering orders for nearby residents. The bomb was discovered last week during work on the bed of the Sava River in the municipality of Radovljica.

The State Unit for Unexploded Ordnance is moving the bomb from the left bank of the Sava to the right bank, where workers prepared a reinforced protective structure for its deactivation. Officials said the move should reduce the potential shockwave from 1,200 meters to 400 meters and direct it toward the riverbank, away from the bridge.

Police, municipal wardens, firefighters and civil protection personnel began checking the area and closing access points at 7 a.m. Movement and traffic within the secured area were prohibited from 9 a.m. The evacuation zone covers a 400-meter band around the discovery site, although it contains no residential buildings. People in the area were told to leave, remove vehicles and farm machinery, and secure their animals.

Parts of Globoko, Mišače and Dobro Polje lie within the second zone, between 400 and 600 meters from the bomb. Residents there may remain at home, but must stay indoors with doors and windows closed. Roads, paths, the railway and the Sava were also completely closed within 600 meters of the bomb beneath the Globoko railway bridge. The operation was expected to run from 9 a.m. until about 1 p.m.

The American bomb dates from the Second World War and has two mechanical fuses. One is damaged, so specialists prepared equipment to try to remove it. Darko Zonjič, commander of the state unexploded ordnance unit, estimated the chance of successful deactivation at 50%. Fire-engine sirens and announcements marked the start of the operation, with the same system to signal its end.

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The chances of successful deactivation are 50 percent.