Military recovers unexploded shell from St. Lawrence River near Trois-Rivières

NICOLET · The Canadian Armed Forces have recovered an unexploded shell from the banks of the St. Lawrence River near Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Quebec provincial police were called to the town of Nicolet on Friday to establish a security perimeter around the object. Police confirmed that soldiers later recovered the shell, which was deemed to be harmless. The municipality said in a social media post that the military would transport the shell to another location and destroy it.

The town said the shell had been submerged under a rising tide in the Port Saint-François area, which is across the St. Lawrence River from Trois-Rivières. This discovery marks the third such find in the area in just over a year. Two shells were found within two days in the same area last July. The recurring discoveries are linked to historical military testing in the region. Between 1952 and 2000, the Department of National Defence conducted tests at a munitions test centre in Nicolet by firing into Lac Saint Pierre, through which the St. Lawrence River flows. The federal government says current testing procedures have changed to prevent such incidents. The military's explosive ordnance disposal team was tasked with handling the recovered shell from this latest incident.

The municipality's social media post provided the primary public notification about the event. Police involvement was limited to forming the security perimeter to ensure public safety while the military experts conducted the recovery operation. No injuries or damage were reported in connection with the discovery of the shell. The area where the shell was found is part of the broader Lac Saint Pierre region, which was used for decades as a testing ground for munitions.

The recovery operation proceeded without major incident following the police securing the site. The shell will be destroyed at an undisclosed location designated for such hazardous materials. This procedure follows the standard protocol for dealing with unexploded ordnance recovered from former test ranges. The discovery highlights the lingering presence of military debris from the last century's testing activities along the St. Lawrence River.

With files from Global News and CityNews