A shell dating from the First World War exploded this Wednesday on a construction site in Moreuil, in the Somme. One minor injury has been reported.
Unusual scene this Wednesday morning in the Somme. While carrying out earthworks in the parking lot of the Dieuzy laundry, located on the Route de Thennes industrial zone, in Moreuil, a worker hit a shell dating from the First World War with his construction machine, reports France Bleu , confirming information from Courier Picard. More fear than harm, the worker was only slightly injured during the explosion.
Very quickly, around twenty firefighters were sent to the scene. Among the staff, certain members specialize in chemical risk. Because “at first, the intervention services feared that the shell would contain toxic gases”, affirms the prefecture contacted by telephone by France 3. Fortunately, “the risk has been ruled out”. Police officers and deminers were also dispatched to the site and the approximately 28 employees of the laundry were evacuated from the building as a precaution during the operation.
While the worker was still treated by emergency services and then transported to the Amiens South hospital center, the perimeter was secured and no other explosive device was discovered on site. Once the intervention was completed, the laundry employees were able to return to their business during the day. “The City of Moreuil thanks all the emergency services,” the town hall reacted on Facebook, specifying at the beginning of the afternoon that the incident was over and that traffic had been restored on the Route de Thennes, “between the “Sergeant company and the Citroën garage”.
