Man Rushed to Hospital with WWI Shell Lodged in Rectum
Emergency services in Toulouse called in bomb experts after discovering a 20cm 1918 shell inside a 24-year-old patient during surgery, safely.
Key Points
- On Feb 1, patient at Toulouse hospital found to have 20cm 1918 shell lodged rectally during surgery.
- Bomb disposal experts secured perimeter at 1:40am; shell confirmed safe and non-detonable.
- Surgery resumed successfully after neutralisation; no charges filed as shell deemed demilitarised.
- Similar rare cases reported: 88yo in Toulon 2022 and WWII projectile in UK 2021.
Early on the morning of 1 February, emergency services at Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse mobilised bomb disposal experts after a 24-year-old man arrived with severe rectal pain caused by a World War I shell lodged inside him.
The patient sought urgent care without disclosing the object's nature. Medical staff began a routine surgical procedure to remove it, but discovered mid-operation that it was a 20cm-long, just over 3cm-wide shell from 1918. Fearing a potential explosion, they halted immediately and alerted authorities.
Around 1.40am, police called in explosives experts, who secured a perimeter to neutralise the device and allow the operation to resume safely. Initial checks confirmed the shell posed no detonation risk.
Once the situation stabilised, judicial support teams launched proceedings for possession of category A ammunition. Toulouse prosecutors, however, will not pursue the case, classifying the shell as demilitarised.
The patient is expected to be interviewed in coming days to determine how he obtained the projectile, according to French outlet *La Dépêche*.
The incident echoes rare but similar cases, including an 88-year-old man treated at a Toulon hospital in 2022 for a comparable World War I shell, and a 2021 episode in the UK involving a World War II projectile.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: