Holidaymakers on Poland’s Baltic coast received a surprise when amphibious military transport vehicles filled with soldiers suddenly emerged from the sea and proceeded to drive down the beach.
Images and videos shared online show the PTS vehicles – a type of Soviet-era tracked amphibious transporter – weaving between sunbathing families on the beach in the village of Dziwnówek, from where they travelled a few kilometres down the cost to a base in nearby Dziwnów.
Też tam byłem, najpierw łódź potem 2 wozy desantowe jechały. pic.twitter.com/pkSfxDZ4Ik
— Mathew Kardyshian 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@Matiuu87) June 20, 2023
It later emerged that the incident had been part of regular military exercises carried out by the 8th Battalion of Sappers from Dziwnów of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla.
“For a resident of Dziwnów, this is nothing new. But for tourists, it is quite a surprise,” wrote local newspaper Głos Szczeciński. The beaches of the Baltic coast are a popular destination for holidaymakers from around Poland in the summer months.
“Soldiers…were moving along the beach to Dziwnów from Dziwnówek, where the subdivision’s specialised training is taking place…between 12 and 23 June,” Lieutenant Commander Grzegorz Lewandowski told the newspaper.
“The area of the training ground itself was closed to the public at the time,” he added. “However, during the movement to and from the exercise area, operators of PTS-type vehicles exercise extreme caution in places where there are tourists.”
Most Poles are holiday at home this summer amid the pandemic – but that doesn't mean they are missing out.
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— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 9, 2020
Some tourists, however, expressed concerns about the safety of people on the beach. “It’s dangerous, especially for children, but also for animals,” one man told broadcaster Polsat. “You shouldn’t drive between people; I saw mothers grabbing their children.”
PTS vehicles are used by the Polish military in emergencies, particularly during flooding, Głos Szczeciński reports. According to Lewandowski, PTS-type vehicles cannot be driven on streets because their tracks “could lead to damage to road infrastructure”.
Earlier this year – as part of the Polish government’s ramping up of military procurement in the wake of Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine – the army announced the purchase of 1,400 newly developed, Polish-made “Borsuk” infantry fighting vehicles.
The defence ministry has signed an agreement to purchase 1,400 domestically produced "Borsuk" infantry fighting vehicles in what the government says may be the Polish arms industry's largest project in 50 years https://t.co/aQQBvLumz2
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 28, 2023
Main image credit: Kamienskie.info
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
