ANKARA, July 31. /TASS/. A beach on the Black Sea near Istanbul has been closed to the public by Turkish defense forces after 28 artillery shells were spotted in the water near the beach, the NTV television channel reported on Monday.

According to the A-haber television channel, the shells were found on July 28 at a depth of 1-1.5 meters some ten meters off the Sofular beach located 70 kilometers east of Istanbul. Divers have retrieved nine shells and handed them over to experts to identify their origin.

The rest are expected to be detonated by specialists on August 2.