Sharjah24 - AFP: Under a cliff in Vlora bay, one of the most beautiful sites on the Albanian Riviera, a diver emerges from the water carrying an artillery shell which he carefully places on the pebbly beach.

Beneath the crystal-clear water of the Adriatic, shells and grenades dating back to World War II rust on the seabed, polluting the water and posing a deadly threat to life.

Aboard the "Pluton" diving support vessel, a group of some 10 French and Albanian de-mining divers are on a joint mission to find and remove the munitions -- but nobody knows how many still remain.

In less than two hours, the divers collected an impressive 85 pieces of ammunition, which were likely deliberately thrown into the sea by occupying Italian troops over seven decades ago.

"It's joint work with the Albanian navy, which knows the site better than we do," Captain Aymeric Barazer de Lannurien, commander of the French contingent, said . 

Specialists recovered a total of 310 devices during last year's joint Franco-Albanian effort.

Barazer de Lannurien said most of the shells found were artillery shells, lodged between rocks on the seabed.