There are potentially thousands of unexploded World War II bombs lying undiscovered around the world. Many times in the past, explosives experts have had to deactivate these bombs in areas where a large number of people reside. Recently, British emergency services and agencies declared a major incident after a second world war bomb exploded unexpectedly in Great Yarmouth, a town in Norfolk.
Norfolk police called it an “unplanned” detonation because this happened when the experts were trying to disarm it. The officials were later informed that no one was hurt in the blast.
The official Twitter handle of Norfolk Police also shared footage of the unplanned explosion.
Watch the video here:
Both 400m & 200m cordons have lifted with most roads reopened in those locations. Southtown Road remains closed while necessary checks on damage take place. People can return to their homes. The Local Resilience Forum have confirmed they’ve stood the major incident response down.
— Norfolk Police (@NorfolkPolice) February 10, 2023
After the military device was discovered in Great Yarmouth on Tuesday morning, Metro News reports that hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes and places of work. However, efforts to deploy specialised robots to detonate the device didn’t exactly go as planned, and the blast couldn’t be stopped.
The security force said, “The device exploded during slow burnout work to disarm the remaining explosives.”
“All army and emergency service personnel have been accounted for, and damage is currently being assessed. At this time, no physical injuries or casualties have been reported to any of the three emergency services call centres or attendees at the local A&E department.”
Assistant Chief Constable Nick Davison of the Norfolk Constabulary said, “The device exploded shortly after work had begun to disarm the device.”
“The approach had been the safest option to disarm the device; however, it always carried a risk of unintended detonation. Thankfully, all personnel have been accounted for, and agencies are coming together to assess damage to the river wall,” he added.
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