A major security incident unfolded at a French hospital over the weekend when medical staff discovered a live World War I artillery shell inside a patient's rectum, prompting a full-scale evacuation of the facility.
Emergency Admission Leads to Bomb Scare
The unnamed 24-year-old French national arrived at the Rangueil Accident and Emergency unit in Toulouse, located in southwestern France, late on Saturday night. According to an investigating source, the patient was "in a state of extreme discomfort, having inserted a large object up his rectum."
Emergency surgery was immediately performed, during which doctors made the startling discovery. The object was identified as an unexploded 37mm artillery shell dating back to the First World War, measuring approximately 20 centimetres (eight inches) in length and just over an inch in circumference.
Full-Scale Evacuation and Bomb Disposal
Upon realising the shell was still live, hospital authorities initiated a full evacuation of staff and patients from Rangueil Hospital. A security perimeter was established around the accident and emergency unit as bomb disposal experts were urgently summoned to the scene.
The fire brigade stood by on high alert while specialists worked to safely diffuse the century-old munition. The pointed 1918 shell, which bore date stamps confirming its origin, was eventually declared safe after careful handling by explosive ordnance disposal teams.
Historical Context of the Shell
The brass-and-copper shell was manufactured for use by the Imperial German Army towards the end of the First World War. Such munitions were deployed in their hundreds of thousands against British and French forces during major set-piece battles across the Western Front between 1914 and 1918.
These historical artefacts are regularly discovered during what's known as the "Iron Harvest" – the annual collection of often unexploded ordnance from both world wars found on farmland, building sites, and other disturbed land across France and Belgium.
Legal Consequences and Speculation
The patient is expected to be interviewed by police this week as prosecutors contemplate legal action against him for handling "category A munitions." There has been no official explanation provided regarding how or why the shell ended up in the man's body.
Local media, including La Dépêche newspaper, have speculated that the incident may be related to the patient's social life. The publication noted that medical staff in Toulouse are "accustomed to treating victims injured during sexual games."
Not the First Incident of Its Kind
This extraordinary case follows a remarkably similar incident that occurred in France just two years earlier. In 2022, an 88-year-old Frenchman arrived at Hospital Sainte Musse in Toulon, southern France, with an eight-inch-long World War I artillery shell lodged in his rectum.
That admission also sparked a bomb scare, though disposal experts determined there was minimal risk of explosion. It was understood that the elderly patient had inserted the shell for sexual pleasure, highlighting what appears to be a concerning pattern of dangerous historical munitions being used in this manner.
The Toulouse incident has raised serious questions about public safety, the handling of historical munitions, and the extreme risks some individuals are willing to take. Hospital authorities have emphasised the significant disruption caused by such incidents, which divert emergency resources and put staff and other patients at unnecessary risk.
