Seven crab fishermen were taken to hospital after their boat triggered a bomb from the Second World War off the Norfolk coast.
Five crew members on board the Galwad-Y-Mor suffered significant injuries in the explosion on December 15, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said.
“Although the physical injuries were significant to five of the seven crew, they were fortunate not to be killed,” it said.
The fishermen were hauling in a string of 100 crab pots from the seabed when they noticed “a lot of tension” on the main line, an MAIB report said on Thursday.
The skipper revved the engine in a bid to break the line free, but at 11.22am, three loud bangs resounded on the main deck.
The move had disturbed an unexploded 250-kilogram bomb that had been dropped in the sea during the war, the investigation found.
The MAIB report said it was a German-made high explosive — probably an SC250, a bomb widely used and feared during the Blitz.
Read more:
https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/2022/01/20/fishermen-fortunate-to-be-alive-after-boat-hit-by-german-wartime-bomb/