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What to do if you find unexploded ammunition

Official updatesLU-Alert · RTL, 100.7 · 112

Do this now

  1. Stop as soon as you see it. Do not touch, move, kick, pick up or cover it, however old, rusty or harmless it looks.
  2. Do not go closer, not even to take a photo.
  3. Back away carefully, the way you came, and keep your eyes on the ground for other objects.
  4. Keep everyone else away, especially children and dogs, and warn people who are walking towards it.
  5. Remember where it is: a path, a building, a tree or another landmark you can describe.
  6. Call the police on Status: Verified from a safe distance. If it has gone off or someone is hurt, call Status: Verified.
  7. Wait well away from it if the police ask you to show them the place, and follow their instructions.

Before

Know what it can look like

  • Anything that looks like a shell, a grenade, a mine, a rocket, a bullet, or part of a missile or a drone. If you are not sure what it is, treat it as dangerous.
  • Ammunition that has not gone off is still dangerous, and an object left behind may be booby-trapped. That is why you never touch it.
  • Report any object that is abandoned or looks wrong to the police. You do not need to be sure; they would rather check.

Make sure everyone knows what to do

  • Teach children never to touch anything that looks like a weapon or ammunition, and to tell an adult straight away.
  • Never take ammunition home as a souvenir, and never try to make it safe yourself.
  • Save Status: Verified and Status: Verified in every phone, and write them in your household plan.

If there has been fighting or explosions

  • Stay out of abandoned buildings, vehicles and trenches, and off damaged bridges. They can hide mines and booby traps.
  • Keep to roads and paths that others use, and do not touch weapons or objects left behind. See Living in a conflict zone.

After

  • Do not go back to the place until the police say it has been made safe.
  • If you touched or moved the object before you knew what it was, tell the police exactly what you did. Do not try to put it back.
  • If someone is hurt, call Status: Verified and give first aid only where it is safe. A course with the Red Cross or the CGDIS teaches you how.
  • If you keep thinking about what happened, talk to someone you trust. See Coping with a crisis.

If you are…

Looking after children

  • Hold small children by the hand and lead them away. Older children can be told in plain words why they must not go back.

Older, ill, or living with a disability

  • If you cannot easily walk away, move away only as far as you safely can, call the police and ask anyone nearby to keep others back.

With a dog

  • Put the dog on a short lead at once and lead it away. A dog can dig up or knock an object.

Digging in the garden, on a farm or a building site

  • If you uncover something that looks like ammunition, stop work at once, leave it where it is, move everyone back and call the police.

Easy-read summary

  • Do not touch strange metal objects or ammunition.
  • Walk away and keep other people away.
  • Call the police and say where it is.
  • It can still explode, even when it looks old.
  • Teach children to tell an adult and never touch it.