A bomb from World War II that was discovered this week in Europe unexpectedly exploded on Friday as military officials tried to defuse it.
The bomb was found Tuesday at a river crossing in Great Yarmouth, leading officials to evacuate the area.
Military experts had reportedly been using a technique to defuse the bomb that slowly burns the explosives. The bomb quickly exploded, sending an audible blast wave that rattled buildings 15 miles away.
Norfolk Police said that no one was injured or killed by the explosion.
“We can confirm the unexploded World War II bomb in Great Yarmouth has detonated,” they said in a statement. “This was not a planned detonation & happened during slow burn work to disarm the explosives. All army & emergency service personnel are accounted for. We will bring you further info when we have it.”
The unexploded bomb in #GreatYarmouth detonated earlier during work to disarm it. Our drone captured the moment. We can confirm that no one was injured. Public safety has been at the heart of our decision making all the way through this operation, which we know has been lengthy. pic.twitter.com/9SaeYmHkrb
— Norfolk Police (@NorfolkPolice) February 10, 2023
Sky News reported that efforts to defuse the bomb began on Thursday.
The bomb was several feet long and weighed north of 500 lbs.
The BBC reported that officials set up cordons at 65o feet and 1,300 feet from the bomb. They were lifted after the explosion.
Norfolk Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable Nick Davison said: “This has been a painstakingly long process but public safety and that of the people involved in the operation has been at the heart of decision-making.”
“This was the final phase of a delicate operation which has caused much disruption in the town, but we’re hopeful this could be resolved soon and that cordons can be lifted, if everything goes to plan.”
Area commander Nathan Clark said the explosion “was always a possibility,” but that efforts to slow burn the explosives, combined with a sand barrier that officials built, helped mitigate the damage.
“If you imagine what that explosion would have looked like without that [mitigation] it really would have been a catastrophe, a 250kg bomb,” he said. “We knew if that was detonated it would have caused serious damage and threat to life and that is why the military, in partnership with Norfolk public services, have done what they’ve done.”