It was no easy task to clear the bomb.
About 3,000 people living nearby were evacuated for the disposal operation, the army said. The area’s airspace was shut down, and navigation along that stretch of the waterway as well as traffic on a railway line and state road close by were halted.
“At first, some of the inhabitants said they would not move, but in the last few days, we think we have persuaded everyone,” said Borgo Virgilio’s mayor, Francesco Aporti, adding that if people had refused to go, operations would have been halted.
Bomb disposal engineers removed the fuse from the U.S.-manufactured device, which the army said contained 530 pounds of explosive.
Then the bomb squad, escorted by police, transferred the device to a quarry in Medole municipality about 30 miles away, where it was destroyed.
Italy declared a state of emergency last month for areas surrounding the Po, which is the country’s longest river. It accounts for roughly a third of Italy’s agricultural production and is suffering its worst drought for 70 years.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
