Briton among two dead after World War II bomb explodes on Solomon Islands
A Briton was one of two men who died after an unexploded World War II bomb detonated at a house on the Solomon Islands.
Stephen “Luke” Atkinson died along with Australian Trent Lee following the explosion in the the capital city of Honiara on Sunday.
The two men were working for Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which maps Second World War bomb sites across Solomon Islands.
“We received a report on the incident this evening and we are now at the scene of the tragic incident," Inspector Clifford Tunuki of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force said.
NPA said it will offer assistance to the relatives and colleagues of the two men and try to ascertain what happened.
“We can confirm that two of our colleagues have died in a tragic accident in the Solomon Islands, NPA Deputy Secretary General Per Nergaard said.
“The two perished are British citizen Stephen 'Luke' Atkinson and Australian citizen Trent Lee.”
“We are devastated by what has happened, and for the loss of two good colleagues. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their families, relatives and staff,” NPA’s Secretary General Henriette Killi Westhrin said.