Incident Overview
- Location: Jena, district of Lobeda-West (playground)
- Time: Sunday morning, February 15, 2026
- Discovery: Grenade-like object in the sand
- Measures: Extensive cordoning, deployment of the explosive ordnance disposal service
- Result: Identification as a practice hand grenade, no detonation
Jena. It is the nightmare of many parents: children playing peacefully in the sandbox, digging deep into the ground, and suddenly holding not a toy mold or a stone, but a potentially deadly object in their hands. This exact scenario occurred on Sunday morning at a playground in the densely populated Jena district of Lobeda-West. A concerned father reacted quickly, potentially preventing something worse.
From Sunday Outing to Major Operation
The 39-year-old father, who spent the sunny morning at the playground with his children, became aware of the find his offspring had uncovered. The metallic body had the typical shape of a hand grenade. Instead of carelessly setting the object aside or examining it himself, the man immediately called emergency services. A decision that was later explicitly praised by the emergency forces.
The arriving officers from the Inspektionsdienst Jena confirmed the father’s initial assessment: the object looked deceptively similar to a real explosive device. Safety measures were initiated immediately. The area around the playground in Lobeda-West was cordoned off extensively to protect passers-by and residents from a possible detonation. The atmosphere in the residential area was briefly tense while waiting for the specialists to arrive.
All-Clear from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service
The explosive ordnance disposal service (Tauber) was requested for the precise identification and securing of the find. The explosives experts examined the object thoroughly on-site. After a short time, however, the all-clear was given: the find was not a live weapon of war from World War II, but a so-called practice hand grenade.
Such training devices are often used by the military or authorities to train the handling of projectiles without using a live explosive charge. Nevertheless, they are often hard for laypeople to distinguish from real ammunition. The specialists recovered the object professionally and transported it away. No one was injured in the incident.
Danger Recognized, Danger Averted: Correct Behavior When Finding Ammunition
Even though it was fortunately “only” a practice grenade in this case, the incident in Lobeda-West shows how present the issue of explosive ordnance remains decades after the end of the war or through remnants of exercises. Thuringia, like many other federal states, is repeatedly the scene of such finds.
The police and experts repeatedly urge caution in this context. If walkers, construction workers, or – as in this case – children at play find suspicious metallic objects, the following iron rules apply:
- Do not touch: Changes in position can trigger chemical fuses in old ammunition.
- Do not move: Even slight lifting can have fatal consequences.
- Mark and Warn: The discovery site should be made recognizable to others without putting oneself in danger.
- Call emergency services: Dial 110 immediately and wait at a safe distance for the emergency forces.
The father in Lobeda intuitively did everything right. The fact that the playground could eventually be reopened and the Sunday ended for the family with only a scare, but no injuries, is also thanks to his level-headedness.
The playground in Lobeda-West is now fully available for children to play again – hopefully without further surprises in the sand from now on.
Sources:
Original
Transparency note: This article was created automatically, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.