Northern Ont. neighbourhood evacuated after live explosive devices from the Second World War found

There were some tense moments in northern Ontario on Wednesday after several Second World War-era explosive devices were found earlier this week.

Three live mortar rounds were found Monday by a woman in Schreiber who was cleaning out her garage after her husband died, OPP Const. Tanya Brennen told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in a phone interview Thursday morning.

Upon the discovery, she called police and it took a couple of days to assemble the teams.

Several streets were closed, the trains were shut down and several blocks evacuated Wednesday afternoon as officers descended on the home on the 200 block of Ontario Street, Brennen said.

“The area was evacuated and the team moved the devices to a safe location for a controlled destruction,” OPP said.

Assistance was also provided by the Nipigon detachment, fire departments from both Schreiber and Terrace Bay, the northwest regional explosive disposal unit, 17 Wing explosive ordnance disposal team and the Department of National Defence in Winnipeg.

Brennen said police are not sure where exactly the ‘mortar rounds’ came from or if the woman’s late husband was in the military.

No one was injured in the incident and no charges are pending, she confirmed.