The neutralization of undetonated artillery shells found recently in the sea off Istanbul's Şile district has commenced in line with the decision of the Underwater Defense Group (SAS) Command, local media reported Wednesday.
The artillery shells found on the seabed last Friday were brought ashore by the SAS Group Command teams after the conducted scans in the region, and security measures began to be implemented in the area where the settlements and the beach are situated, as per the Demirören News Agency (DHA).
Türkiye's Naval Forces Command detected at least 28 shells in the Black Sea, local authorities in Istanbul said Monday.
Investigations conducted by the underwater defense forces confirmed that the objects were unexploded artillery shells, the governor's office said in a statement.
"At least 28 pieces of ammunition were detected. Out of the identified munitions, eight of them, which could be safely brought ashore, were taken to the SAS Group Command for identification and disposal," it said.
The incident came to light after a citizen swimming at Sofular Public Beach in Şile last Friday reported that he saw several unexploded artillery shells in the sea.
Upon the reports, authorities promptly dispatched gendarmerie and firefighting teams, and the SAS Group Command was alerted about the situation.
As part of the operation, the beach was evacuated, and access to the area was restricted. Despite challenging weather conditions that limited investigation on the first day, nine suspicious objects were found scattered in the region at a depth of 1-1.5 meters (3.28-4.92 feet), 10 meters away from the beach, on July 29.
The SAS team, which continued the investigation by diving on July 30, detected at least 28 pieces of ammunition at the aforementioned location, eight of which were retrieved ashore.
After the necessary security measures, the gendarmerie evacuated an area of 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) before the blast, which was planned to take place on Wednesday morning.
After the evacuation of the people living in the houses near the beach, the SAS teams connected all of the shells found underwater with a detonator and detonated with fuze control, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
With the effect of the explosion, the sea waters reportedly rose up to about 30 meters in height, it was noted.
