A second world war bomb exploded unexpectedly in United Kingdom’s Great Yarmouth while agencies were working to diffuse it, reported The Guardian citing the local police. No one was injured in the explosion of the 250 kg bomb.
According to the report, emergency services and agencies were working to disarm the device after it was discovered at a river crossing in Norfolk town on Tuesday.
The Norfolk police tweeted the video of the blast and said, “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.”
The police said that no one was hurt in the “unplanned” detonation, The Guardian reported. It added that the army specialists had been cutting the bomb using a technique that creates a slow burn of the explosives and burns off that material. Notably, the officers had said there was a risk of an unintended detonation.
The work to cut into it began on Thursday, but the water needed to do the work impacted the effectiveness of the sand barrier around the device. The bomb was about one metre long and weighed about 250 kg, and was discovered by a contractor working on the third crossing over the River Yare, the report mentioned.
There had been a 400-metre cordon in place at the scene, the report said.
As per The Guardian report, 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,” he added.
According to a BBC report, Norfolk County Council's deputy leader Graham Plant issued "a heartfelt thank you" to those who helped in bringing the incident to "a safe conclusion".
"From the emergency services, the Army, government agencies, frontline staff at both the borough and county councils, all the contractors and community volunteers and anyone who has helped or supported in any way, you all deserve our utmost praise," he said.