In the days following, the fishermen continued to catch hundreds of cluster bombs, and it became obvious that they were weapons used by the US Air Force.

The Italian Government banned fishing in the northern Adriatic, and a Navy minesweeper is now looking for other bombs.

The US Air Force has now admitted that a plane in difficulty may drop its bombs into international waters, but they should not be primed, and any drop is supposed to be registered.

Admiral Giuseppe Gigli from the Chioggia Harbormaster's office, interviewed by Italian TV on Wednesday 19th, complained that the American forces had not been very helpful in telling the Italian Authorities where the bombs had been dropped.

At the beginning of the Kosovo crisis, an American bomber had dropped its bombs in Lake Garda and had emptied its fuel tanks over the surrounding hills.