The Rangeuil Hospital in Toulouse. An unusual emergency occurred here on Sunday night. Image: Google Maps
When this patient appeared in the emergency room of a hospital in Toulouse, bomb disposal teams had to be called out.
Feb 2, 2026, 6:19 p.mFeb 2, 2026, 6:19 p.m
On the night of Saturday to Sunday, the emergency room at Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse was extremely busy. Responsible was a 24-year-old man with an unusual medical problem: He had a grenade lodged in his rectum, according to the newspaper La Depêche du Midi reported.
The 37mm grenade, a World War I artillery shell, was about 16 centimeters long and 4 centimeters wide. No wonder the man was in pain. Although he informed the emergency room staff that he had inserted an object into his rectum, he did not mention that it was a grenade.
When the emergency operation revealed what the object was, the police were called. The officials, in turn, called in two professional bomb defusers – at 1:30 a.m. And they then took the grenade from 1918 and “neutralized” it. It was said that there was never any risk of explosion. However, the bullet had not been fired, meaning the grenade was loaded.
It is still unclear how the man got this delicate object in his rectum. Maybe he stumbled upon what happened to an 80-year-old man in Toulon in December 2022. In any case, the 24-year-old is now being investigated – he could be prosecuted for possession of category A ammunition. (dhr)