AYUTTHAYA — 15 June 2026, A scrap metal dealer in Thailand’s Ayutthaya province alerted police after two mortar rounds were discovered among scrap metal delivered to a yard, prompting a bomb disposal operation.
Police in Sena district received a report at 15:30 from a scrap yard in Ban Phaen subdistrict. Pol. Capt. Achitpan Wanphan, deputy chief of Sena Police Station, said workers had found two suspicious objects resembling explosive devices among a pile of scrap metal.
Officers, including an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team, were dispatched to the scene, where the objects had been moved to an open area of the yard. Police cordoned off the area before specialists carried out an inspection.
The EOD team identified the objects as two 60mm mortar rounds. Both were old, heavily corroded and covered in rust. One had a damaged fuse that had partially broken away. The devices were removed and taken to a secure location for disposal.
The yard owner, Khwan, 50, said the business purchases scrap materials collected by pickup trucks operating throughout the area. Workers sort the materials after weighing them and separating them into different categories.
She said an employee first discovered the objects and reported them to management.
“At first I thought it was a joke, but when I checked, I realised they looked like explosive devices,” she said.
Khwan said the yard had previously found explosive items mixed in with scrap metal on several occasions, prompting management to instruct workers to carefully inspect all materials before processing them.
She added that employees are prohibited from cutting, drilling or welding any scrap metal before it has been fully sorted because of the potential danger posed by unidentified objects.
“Some people who bring scrap metal to sell may not realise they have dangerous items mixed in with the materials,” she said.
Officials urged members of the public not to handle or move suspicious objects that resemble explosives, regardless of whether they appear live or inactive.
Instead, they urged the public to notify police immediately so specialists can safely assess and remove the objects.