A 47-year-old man from Diksmuide, in West Flanders, was injured on Monday after a shell exploded in his garden, according to the West Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office and the local emergency services.
Firefighters from the Westhoek emergency services responded to a call in the morning about an explosion on Onze-Lieve-Vrouwstraat. They found the man in his garden with severe injuries. He was rushed to the hospital.
An investigation was launched into the exact circumstances of the incident.
Preliminary findings suggest the man was handling the shell when it detonated. Several other shells were later discovered at his home and have been confiscated.
The Prosecutor’s Office warned that collecting shells is both extremely dangerous and prohibited under weapons legislation. "It is never certain that a shell no longer contains explosive substances," it explained in a statement.
Belgium’s bomb disposal unit, SEDEE, is currently on site to neutralise the remains of the shell. Fragments from the explosion may still be found within a 500-metre radius.
