Finding of corroded shell forces closure of bus station in Bulgarian capital

The South Bus Station in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia was temporarily closed on August 27 after a highly corroded artillery shell was found in a field nearby.

The report of the find was made at 9.30am and a team of army sappers arrived four hours later, Bulgarian National Television said.

The Defence Ministry said in a statement that an army team had examined the projectile and arranged for it to be transported from the scene.

Destruction of the shell would be carried out at a secure area away from populated areas and in accordance with safety regulations, the ministry said.

Sapper Alexander Tsvetkov said that the object was about 28cm long, with a diameter of seven cm.

He said that the shell was highly corroded and no markings were visible. “For the moment, we cannot determine exactly what type it is. It could be very dangerous to the population and I’m glad nothing happened,” Tsvetkov said.

It has been a quite busy time lately for Bulgaria’s military explosives disposal squads. On August 26, the Defence Ministry announced details of three bomb disposal operations in different parts of the country.

(Archive photo: Ministry of Defence)

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