More than 240 explosives dating back to the Second World War have been discovered at a construction site on Üllői Road in Budapest, where Hungarian military bomb disposal experts faced a particularly challenging operation involving fused and damaged munitions.
A huge amount of world war-era explosives found in the heart of Budapest
The Hungarian Defence Forces’ 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal and River Flotilla Regiment announced that a large quantity of wartime explosives had been recovered from the site at Üllői Road 404, in Budapest’s 18th district. The latest operation took place last Friday, following earlier discoveries at the same location.
According to their statement, 244 explosive devices and remnants, alongside substantial quantities of other ammunition-related material, were recovered.
Soviet, German, Hungarian and American munitions found
The recovered items included explosives manufactured in the Soviet Union, Germany, Hungary and the United States. Among the identified devices were 79 Soviet 82mm mortar shells, 77 German 81mm mortar shells, two German 120mm mortar shells, ten German 7.5cm Ig.R.18 fragmentation grenades and 12 Soviet RG-42 hand grenades.
The experts also found around 100 kilograms of small-arms ammunition, 50 kilograms of shell casing fragments and ten kilograms of explosive material remnants. The operation was made considerably more difficult by the suspected history of the ammunition. Experts believe the explosives from the Second World War may once have been collected in a pit and subsequently set on fire in an attempt to destroy them.
The heat apparently caused some of the devices and their remnants to fuse together, making separation an extremely laborious process. Bomb disposal personnel had to chisel apart the pieces that had become stuck together, according to the military.
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A demanding seven-hour operation
The work began at 8 AM and continued until approximately 2.30 PM. The intensity of the operation was illustrated by data from one bomb disposal soldier’s smartwatch: during an activity recorded as “walking”, it registered a distance of 3.21 kilometres and approximately 2,387 calories burned.
The Hungarian Defence Forces said the dangerous remnants were safely dealt with thanks to the personnel’s expertise, perseverance and coordinated efforts, but it shows that unexploded Second World War ordnance can remain a serious hazard decades after the conflict ended. Earlier attempts to dispose of the ammunition improperly can also create complex challenges for specialists today.
The construction site had already seen major discoveries in mid-October, when bomb disposal experts neutralised two Soviet FAB-100 aerial bombs. During the second operation, a further 24 explosives of various types and sizes were also removed.
Authorities warn that anyone who discovers an explosive device or an object that might resemble one must not touch, move or attempt to neutralise it. People should keep a safe distance, mark the location if possible and notify the police by calling 112.
Read also: Second World War Soviet bomb found in Budapest, 200-metre exclusion zone to be imposed
