A young boy found an explosive hand grenade near a playground in Rotterdam on Sunday evening. The child, who found the dangerous explosive in a bush nearby, took the device to the playground with him. His parents called the police after realising what the object was.
At the time it was found, there was doubt as to whether the explosive device was indeed real, or just a replica or toy. According to Rijnmond, the hand grenade was deemed to be an explosive after the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service placed the device in an X-ray scanner to determine its authenticity.
The grenade will now be examined further by forensic experts working for the Dutch police, in the hope of finding more clues as to where the device originated. After this, the hand grenade will be safely destroyed by the authorities.
The find comes at a time when Rotterdam and other Dutch cities are seeing explosions happen more frequently. Victims have their houses or businesses targeted using explosives such as hand grenades, incendiary devices, cobra fireworks and homemade bombs, with attacks often made in retaliation for disputes involving drugs or arguments more generally.
The city of Rotterdam has already had more than 100 incidents involving explosives in 2023, and is one of the regions facing the highest numbers of explosives-related crimes.