Spanish Navy EOD divers deactivate a Civil War bomb off a Barcelona beach

An explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team of the Spanish Navy Mine Countermeasures Unit – homebased in Cartagena – moved away from the beach and exploded what was positively identified as a 70-kg bomb of the Spanish Civil War. The explosive device had been fortuitously found on a beach near Barcelona.

Following the discovery, the competent local authorities requested the support of bomb disposal experts from the Spanish Navy. An EOD team was immediately dispatched to the site. The team consisted of 4 EOD technicians and two vehicles with specialized material.

Due to the proximity of the coast and of an underwater pipeline, it was decided to move the device farther away into the sea for security reasons. For its disposal, a so-called ‘low order’ operation was organized, consisting of burning the explosive from the inside out through the use of small special explosive charges. This resulted in a lower impact on the marine ecosystem of the area.

Once the required security time elapsed and the visibility in the area improved, the success of the controlled explosion was verified and part of the remains collected for further investigation. As soon as the operation concluded, the authorities were duly informed and the beach reopened for public use.

The Spanish Navy Diving Unit has expert divers specialized in deactivation of underwater explosive devices (EOD) including unexploded or improvised devices.

This EOD activity, in the maritime domain, is the exclusive competence of the Spanish Navy.