Underwater World War Two mine pulled up by fishing boat off Cornwall
A World War Two mine capable of holding between 500 and 1,000kg of high explosive has been pulled up by the nets of a Cornish fishing vessel.
The drama took place in Looe on Thursday 11 January.
The device was safely detonated on Friday 12 January. Looe police have now shared details of the incident that generated a huge amount of local interest and resulted in cordons being put in place in the south coast town.
A Looe police spokesperson said: "As many of you may be aware, yesterday we were called to a report of a device having been caught in the nets of a local fishing vessel which was moored on the quay in East Looe.
"Due to the size of the item, our colleagues from the Coastguard and the Looe Harbour Commissioners Office assisted us in establishing cordons to keep the public safe and were aided further by local businesses.
"We were joined at the scene by the Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team who confirmed this to be a suspected underwater mine from the WWII era, with the potential that it could hold between 500 – 1000kg of high explosive.
"The decision was made that the vessel would sail to an exclusion zone off the coast of Plymouth where the device would be detonated safely underwater today (Friday).
"We want to extend our thanks to the public and our colleagues and apologise for the inconvenience caused during the incident."
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said earlier today: "We can confirm Devon and Cornwall Police requested Explosive Ordnance Disposal assistance after the discovery of a possible unexploded ordnance in Plymouth Sound.
"Bravo Sqn of the Diving Threat and Exploitation Group has identified the item as a possible sea mine and will make it safe by detonation at a designated sea area.”
A team of Royal Navy Divers from HMNB Devonport was called to the device. A statement from the Royal Navy said: "A team of Royal Navy Divers from Bravo Diving Unit 1 (BDU1), based in HMNB Devonport were called out to a suspected item of ordnance onboard a fishing trawler in Looe Harbour on the afternoon of Thursday 11 January.
"Upon inspection it was deemed safe to move and with the assistance of the vessels crew the item was moved from the Harbour and lowered to the seabed in a location south of Plymouth Breakwater.
"On Friday 12 January a Render Safe Procedure was carried out by the team which involved a controlled underwater explosion. Following a subsequent inspection, the item was discovered to be an inert Drill Mine which is identical in size and shape to the real thing and was unable to be initially identified due to the age and deteriorated state of the item.
"The team would like to thank the Master of the vessel, Devon and Cornwall Police and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for their assistance with the task."