WWII shell found on glitzy French Riviera beach

Dunya News

Two nearby public beaches were also closed as the area was evacuated to allow bomb disposal experts

NICE (AFP) - One of the best-known beaches on the French Riviera was closed Saturday after a World War II shell was discovered in Nice six metres from the shore, officials said.

The unexploded ordnance was found by a diver at a depth of three metres (ten feet) off a private beach in front of the city s famous Negresco hotel, long a haunt of the rich and famous.

Two nearby public beaches were also closed as the area was evacuated to allow bomb disposal experts to make the shell safe in a controlled explosion.

Nice was shelled during the Allied landings on the Riviera in August 1944.

The beaches reopened mid-Saturday afternoon.