Cartagena anti-mines divers destroy 300 kilo Civil War mine

The mine was found at 12 metres depth close to the Girona coastline

Divers from the anti-mines diving unit based at Cartagena, the Unidad de Buceadores de Medidas contra Minas were sent to destroy a 300 kilo mine discovered by a sporting diver off the coast of Roses in Girona on Thursday.

The mine had lain undiscovered at a depth of 12 meters and just 200 metres away from the shoreline since the Civil war when it had been laid.
A team of 5 divers quickly identified the object as a German mine, a GV MDE which was still loaded and live with 150 kilos of hexolite.
The area was cordoned off and divers set off a controlled explosion to destroy the mine, sending up a huge plume of water, and making an almighty racket, although no major material damage was caused to the immediate area.

No injuries were incurred during the safe disposal of the mine.

Thousands of bombs, mortars and hand grenades lie in the waters off the Spanish shoreline and buried in the most unlikely situations after not only the Spansih Civil War, but the war of independence : one was discovered in a church tower during a clean up just a couple of weeks ago and a 90mm mortar turned up under a BBQ unit in Murcia earlier this week, so if digging in the garden and the spade hits something that looks like a bomb it probably is, so don´t touch it and call the police. Under no circumstances attempt to dig it up, and don´t take it down to the police station as people regularly do, as the station has to be evacuated so the experts can come along and dispose of the artefact. If diving, don´t touch it and remember, removal of ANY historical artefacts from the sea bed is totally illegal.

Copyrighted images supplied by the Unidad de Buceadores de Medidas contra Minas, Cartagena