In pics: This is how NSG commandos defused 50-year-old 59 live shells in Mumbai

Mumbai city news: The shells, called unexploded ordnance in military parlance, were defused or detonated in a controlled explosion

Fifty-nine live shells found in Thane near Mumbai two years ago were destroyed on Wednesday morning.

The shells were found in Thane two years ago. (Praful Gangurde)

The shells, called unexploded ordnance in military parlance, were defused or detonated in a controlled explosion, after an NSG team from Delhi, which inspected them on Monday, called for an immediate disposal.

The commandos at the spot. (Praful Gangurde)

The Thane crime branch, along with NSG commando, Thane bomb squad, fire brigade, local police station staff and an emergency ambulance, carried out the operation at Thakurpada in Shildaighar, where stone mining is carried out.

A police officer said, “The shells are suspected to be 50 years old. Some of them have been defused. We suspect they may have misfired. Some of them may still have explosives.”

The shells are more than 50 years old. (Praful Gangurde)

A local resident alerted the police about the shells in October 2015.

Around 1km area around the spot was cordoned off and local villagers were also asked to move to a safe distance on a temporary basis.

The first explosion in the pit took place around 9.30am. (Praful Gangurde)

“We dug up six 4-ft deep pits. Five-six shells were put in each pit, which was then covered with soil. It was covered with a layer of pebbles. The shells exploded in the pit,” said an officer.