The Hungarian Armed Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit took delivery of new patrol vehicles, trucks and protective equipment on Wednesday.
Defense Minister Tibor Benkő said EOD duties remain an important part of the army’s tasks, given the large number of unexploded ordnance still being found in the country.
According to Rmx.news, most of that ordnance consists of bombs, artillery and mortar shells from World War II. Last year alone, over 36,000 such explosives had been found in the country and EOD teams had to respond to emergencies and dispose of the devices on more than 100 occasions. Most recently, a large area of Budapest had to be evacuated on April 10th, while the explosives teams disarmed a 100-kilogram WWII Soviet mortar shell.
In the past 20 years, 11 members of the Army’s EOD unit have died while performing their duties.