Bomb disposal units and emergency services were rushed to a hospital in southern France after a male patient arrived with a World War I-era artillery shell lodged in his rectum, triggering a full-scale evacuation over fears the device could explode.
The incident unfolded last Saturday (January 31) at the Rangueil Accident and Emergency Unit in Toulouse, when a 24-year-old man was admitted in what doctors described as a state of extreme discomfort. During an emergency procedure, medical staff discovered that the object inserted into his body was a live artillery shell dating back to 1918, immediately raising alarm.
According to a report cited by the New York Post, the eight-inch-long brass-and-copper shell had not detonated, prompting fears that it could still be active.
Hospital Evacuated as Bomb Squad Called In
“He was in a state of extreme discomfort, having inserted a large object up his rectum,” a police source said. “Emergency surgery was carried out, and the object was found to be an artillery shell dating back to the First World War.”
Once the discovery was made, bomb disposal experts and the fire brigade were immediately alerted. Authorities evacuated the hospital as a precautionary measure and established a security perimeter around the premises while the shell was assessed.
“Worse still, it had not exploded, and so bomb disposal experts had to be called to defuse the shell, with the fire brigade standing by,” the source added.
Shell Safely Removed, Patient Recovering
After analysing the munition, bomb disposal specialists determined that the shell posed no immediate threat. The device was safely removed, and the patient remained in hospital to recover from surgery.
Officials have not disclosed how the antique shell came to be lodged inside the man’s body. However, French media reports suggest the incident may have resulted from a party stunt gone wrong.
Authorities are expected to question the man later this week, and prosecutors are reportedly considering legal action for the handling of “category A munitions”, a serious offence under French law.
WWI Relic From the Western Front
Artillery shells similar to the one discovered were widely used by Imperial German forces against British and French troops along the Western Front during World War I. Even more than a century later, unexploded ordnance from the conflict is still occasionally found across parts of Europe.