Caught on camera: Massive blast in UK town after World War II-era bomb explodes

A massive explosion of World War II-era bomb that occurred in the UK during a deactivation exercise has been captured on video. The 'unplanned blast' to 'disarm' the explosive, according to the Norflok Police, set off an explosion that threw smoke and debris into the sky. The bomb exploded not long after the deactivation operation had started, according to constabulary assistant chief constable Nick Davision.

Prior to the incident, hundreds of people in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, were relocated, according to the British website Metro. The shocking drone video captures the specific moment the bomb detonated, covering the region in smoke and dust.

“People can return to their homes. The Local Resilience Forum have confirmed they’ve stood the major incident response down," the police added. The three-foot-long bomb was reportedly found during bridge construction, and the police marked the area within hours. It was "strongly advised" for anyone still inside the 200–400 metre cordon to leave in accordance with the evacuation warning.

A video of the explosion was posted on Twitter by the Norfolk police.

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

This week, the Army's Explosive Ordnance Device (EOD) team warned that the explosive could harm two important gas pipelines if it blew up. However, the gas pipeline network Cadent tweeted on Tuesday that it had closely inspected the nearby gas pipes. No signs have been found that the explosion has damaged our assets; the gas is still flowing safely.

No reported physical injuries or casualties were present, according to the security force. The device detonated as slow burnout effort was being done to neutralise the remaining explosives, Hindustan Times reported. Destruction is being evaluated, and all military and emergency service officers have been located.

READ | Turkey-Syria earthquake: NASA provides satellite imagery as death toll goes over 24,000