Landmine from Ukraine washed up on Rhodes beach

A landmine from Ukraine has been washed up off the island of Rhodes in south-eastern Greece. The landmine was spotted by a swimmer in the Soroni area who saw the object and removed it not knowing what it was.

A winter swimmer in Rhodes could not believe his eyes when he came face to face with a mine, media reported.

The unprecedented incident took place in Rhodes, in the Soroni region.

A winter swimmer identified and removed from the sea a landmine, which According to information obtained by Mega TV,  the mine “traveled” from Ukraine, arrived in the Aegean to end up off the island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Speaking to Mega TV, the swimmer said he was told by the Coast Guard  “to get away immediately.”

“When I saw it, it was very shiny from a distance, it looked like something precious. It was on the beach, the waves passing over it. I caught it in my hands just out of curiosity,” the man said.

“I didn’t understand what it was, it was very shiny. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I can imagine what could happened to me,” he added.

He said that after removing the landmine from the shore to the beach, he uploaded the video he took on social networks and then he realized what it was based on the responses by other users.

He immediately called the Coast Guard.

“The Coast Guard told me to stay at a distance, to go away. And the Coast Guard itself did not know what it was,” he noted.

According to the Mega TV information, it is a mine that reached the Mediterranean Sea from Ukraine, after an explosion at a dam in the country.

Experts noted it is possible that other mines have traveled to the Mediterranean, sounding alarm.

However, local newspaper rodiaki.gr reported later on Wednesday, that the object initially thought to be a landmine, is a part of an Ukrainian weapon system, as an examination found out.

The object is spherical, slightly smaller than a volleyball, green in color with bumps, and is in good condition.

The beach where the object was washed up and its journey from Odessa to Rhodes.

The object is to be handed over to the Greek Army later today.

The local police department is assigned with the investigation of the case.