According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, municipal director Torfinn Vassvik described that the children were looking for powder plates when they made the discovery. The same source noted that there was a tragic incident after the war where two girls died in the same area. The police have cordoned off the area with barrier tape, and the municipality has asked people to keep distance, emphasizing that children should not play in the beach zone. The grenade will be handled by the military, with bomb disposal personnel assessing and neutralizing it. However, the exact timing of the military's arrival is unclear; it may take a few days, Vassvik said.
Discoveries of war material in Gamvik have occurred several times before. According to the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), around one million tons of unexploded ammunition remain in Norwegian nature and waters. The issue of undetonated war material was debated in the Storting days before the discovery. Vassvik, the municipal director, believes a national cleanup plan is overdue, noting that explosives do not become less potent over time.
There were two alert boys who immediately contacted me and moved away from the site.
We have some war remnants left in the harbor here. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for children to come across objects from the war days.
It could easily take a few days.
This has been lying here for many decades, over several generations. Many strange things have been found in the beach here from the war days.
Those explosives do not become less potent over the years, quite the opposite. So it is good that an initiative for cleanup is being taken.
It shows the seriousness. Such discoveries can have very serious consequences. This time it fortunately went well.