A Czech tourist made a startling discovery while diving just off the coast near Saranda.
Some 20 metres from the shore, he dived underwater and with his camera found a large stash of ammunition.
We were looking for beaches without too many people. Once we found it, we jumped into the water and swam to about 20 meters from the shore. Here, about four meters deep, we found about 30-40 mortar shells,” he said.
The man said he thought they were bottles at first and made some videos. When he got out of the water, it became apparent they were ammunition.
“They are very close to the shore, something must be done,” he added.
He immediately reported to the police in Sarande but there was no indication that the police followed up in the matter. He said the water in the area is very shallow and children have been spotted swimming nearby. The man also said he found it very shocking and was concerned it could scare off tourists.
“I urge the police and the Albanian government to do something to remove these bombs from the sea, or at least put a warning.”
According to military experts who saw the videos shot underwater, the ammunition is not old and therefore does not belong to the Second World War. More likely that the arsenal was taken and then thrown into the sea by one of the naval centres present in the area during the 1997 civil unrest in Albania.
