After five projectiles were discovered during the cleanup of the old Vuka riverbed, work has been halted, and a detailed inspection of 150,000 square meters of terrain now lies ahead.
More than three decades after the end of the Homeland War, the soil of Vukovar continues to reveal dangerous remnants of the conflict. During works on the arrangement and cleanup of the old Vuka riverbed, just a few meters from residential buildings, mortar mines, time fuses, and Zolja rocket launcher nozzles were found, leading to a complete halt of the works.
Josip Colarić, leader of the Vinkovci explosive ordnance disposal group, confirmed to HRT that a total of five projectiles have been found so far. "We directly destroyed three projectiles at the location, and we relocated two for destruction, and they have been destroyed in the meantime," said Colarić.
Josip Suver, supervising engineer on the Croatian Waters project, explained why the decision to halt was made. "This is no longer a coincidence of one or two. Now there are more pieces of rifle grenades and artillery ammunition," said Suver. He added that the decision was made primarily for the safety of the workers on the project, as well as future users of the area.
The demining teams now face a demanding task: to inspect as many as 150,000 square meters of terrain within 90 working days. The work is made more difficult by muddy soil, parts of the riverbed still under water, and the possibility that explosive devices are buried at greater depths.
Vladimir Franjić, owner of a demining company, warns that the danger does not diminish even after decades. "You can never say that a shell that has been in the ground for 20 years will not explode, so in principle, we use the equipment we use in the field to protect the people working," Franjić stated for HRT.
The old Vuka riverbed is not the only problematic area. The Danube near Vukovar hides explosive devices from various historical periods, from World War I through World War II to the Homeland War. Due to the currently low water level, some of these devices have become more accessible, and although the area near the city has already been inspected, new discoveries are not ruled out.
Colarić appealed to citizens that if they find any suspicious object, they should not take any action themselves. "Do not touch, do not transport, do not move, do not take away, but immediately call the police. We will come out as soon as possible to determine what it is. If there is a threat, we will destroy the device at the site of discovery," he urged.
