According to the French newspaper La Depeche du Midi, in the early morning of 1/2, Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse activated its highest level security alert protocol. This occurred after admitting a rare emergency case where, during surgery for a patient suffering from severe anal pain, the surgical team discovered an intact artillery shell. The object, nearly 20 cm long and over 4 cm in diameter, was identified as a weapon from World War I.

Rangueil Hospital, France. Photo: AFP

Fearing the explosive charge inside the shell could be triggered by external force, the hospital immediately evacuated a section of the treatment area and established a safety perimeter. Police, fire services, and a bomb disposal team quickly arrived to manage the potential explosion risk.

After thorough inspection, experts confirmed the shell had been previously disarmed and posed no explosion risk. The surgery then proceeded safely, and the foreign object was removed from the patient's body.

The 24-year-old patient had been admitted in critical condition but concealed the incident's details, vaguely reporting only that he had self-inserted a foreign object. This initial dishonesty led the medical team to misjudge the severity of the situation, creating a dangerous scenario for the surgical team during deep intervention at 2 AM.

The Toulouse prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the incident. Police are working to determine the shell's origin, specifically whether it belonged to the patient or a relative. Authorities suspect this dangerous act may be linked to "chemsex"—a term for group sexual activity involving stimulant use.

The patient's health is currently stable and under medical observation. However, he faces interrogation by investigators and risks prosecution for illegal possession of a Class A weapon, disturbing public order, and severely disrupting the hospital's emergency operations.

Binh Minh (via La Depeche du Midi, Le Figaro)