Emergency services tell a 90-year-old woman that the “hammer” she has been using to bang in nails for 20 years is actually a live grenade.
The woman, named as Grandma Qin, said she was amazed when she found out, as she not only used it to bang in nails, but also used it to crack open nuts including walnuts which were a particular favourite.
Police were notified when a builder spotted the device after being called to demolish an old building on the property in the city of Xiangyang, which is in China’s central Hubei Province.
When the old woman was told what it was, she became scared, and when police dispatched bomb squad technicians she watched nervously as they placed it in a padded bag for removal and disposal on 23rd June.
The woman said that she had found it in the rice field and as it looked like a hammer, had taken it home and used it as a hammer. She said he had also used it in the kitchen to ground pepper.
Grandma Qin told local media: “I thought it was solid iron, and it worked great as a hammer.
“I used it for 20 years, I can’t believe nothing happened.”
Huangbao Police Station of the Baokang County Public Security Bureau confirmed they had been called on reports of a hand grenade and that they had seized the device together with the help of bomb disposal personnel.
They noted that the device had been used so often as a hammer, that the handle had been worn smooth and shiny.
Online commentators like ‘Australian Wine’ said: “As a hammer, it’s good quality, but as a grenade, it’s not up to standard.”
And user ‘Grab Your Lollipop’ said: “It’s impossible that they didn’t recognise this? In the past, when everyone was training, no one recognised the grenade?”
While the user ‘The Name’ said: “I want to compensate the old lady with a hammer.”
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Aloysius Fernandes, Sub-Editor: Simona Kitanovska, Agency: AsiaWire Report
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