Navy detonated 500 North Sea bombs in three years

SCHEVENINGEN – The Dutch navy has detonated the 500th explosive since April 6, 2005, when an American bomb killed three fishermen aboard the Morgenster, an Ouddorp trawler. The crew landed their fish net a bit too hard on the deck, not realizing they also had caught the WWII explosive, which exploded on impact. Since this incident, North Sea fishermen have stepped up their resolve to report sightings of such explosives to the Dutch navy, which tries to locate and detonate them. Since April 2005, fishermen have reported 727 bomb sightings. Returning Allied bomber pilots dropped numerous left-over bombs in the North Sea before they approached their bases in the U.K. since they were not allowed to land with such ammunition aboard their planes. According to recent statistics, bomb sightings by fishermen are declining again.