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| WWII mine in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia |
Velimir Vrzic, a 48-year-old underwater researcher from Rijeka, found two anti-ship mines near the island of Pašman.
These are unexploded World War II naval mines, which have been at a depth of only four meters staying there for more than 75 years, and there was a high risk of activation in the event that someone stopped a speedboat or dropped anchor .
In an interview with Croatia's Jutarnji, Vrzic said that a few days ago his friend Petar Smojver, who is one of Croatia's most famous sailors, noticed an unusual object in a small bay on the island of Pag.
He was nearby and sank, and under the sea a surprise awaited him - he found a metal object resembling a German anti-ship mine, EMC model.
"I recorded my position and moved on. After went for another kilometer under the sea and entering the bay, I found another mine or a metal object that resembles a German UMB model anti-ship mine," said the former Rjeka police officer. , who specializes in underwater archeology.
German forces during World War II, in the absence of aviation and navy at the end of the war, had laid anti-ship mines in all important ports and according to some estimates, in the Croatian part of the Adriatic, they "planted" about 6,000 sea mines. After the war, many of them were destroyed, but not all, and they are very dangerous.
The Lika-Senj Police Department and the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure must destroy 70-year-old underwater mines containing 70 to 500 kilograms of TNT.