- A heavily corroded military mortar shell was discovered yesterday afternoon just five meters off the shore of Pachia Ammos beach in Paleochora, Crete.
- The ordnance was found resting at a depth of 1.5 meters on one of the region’s most popular sandy tourist beaches.
- The Paleochora Coast Guard station immediately marked the underwater site and temporarily cordoned off the surrounding beach area for public safety.
- Standard military protocols have been triggered, with the Hellenic Navy’s clearance diving team (MYK) expected to handle the safe removal or controlled detonation of the device.
Wartime Echoes on the Sands of Pachia Ammos
A routine afternoon at one of southwest Crete’s most frequented coastal stretches took an unexpected turn when beachgoers spotted a piece of unexploded military ammunition resting in the shallows.
The corroded mortar shell was located a mere five meters from the shoreline of Pachia Ammos, a sweeping sandy beach in Paleochora known for drawing heavy crowds of both residents and international holidaymakers.
Upon receiving the alert, officers from the Paleochora Coast Guard station deployed to the scene to secure the area. The underwater site was marked with buoys, and a temporary safety perimeter was established on the sand to keep swimmers and sunbathers clear of the immediate sector while authorities coordinated the disposal logistics.
The Standard Legacy of Submerged Ordnance
Discoveries of this nature are a recurring reality along the Cretan coastline, a landscape heavily fortified and fiercely contested during the Second World War. Mortar shells, artillery pieces, and unexploded aerial bombs from the 1941 Battle of Crete and the subsequent occupation frequently reemerge due to shifting sands, winter storms, and currents.
The heavy corrosion noted by the responding Coast Guard personnel is characteristic of ordnance that has spent over eight decades submerged in the highly saline environment of the Libyan Sea.
Local maritime protocols dictate that the Hellenic Army or Navy’s specialized explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units will take over the operation. Typically, these colonial-era relics are either carefully towed to a desolate marine area or neutralized via a controlled underwater detonation on-site to eliminate any lingering risk to public safety.
