VOLKEL - With two dull bangs, two American aeroplane bombs from the Second World War, traced by Explosive Clearance Group BV (ECG), came to an end in Volkel on Friday afternoon. The bombs were lying under the ground on a site at Hoogveld Zuid, where TPSolar can now start building a solar park.

The roads in the area were closed for a short time for safety reasons. The largest bomb, one thousand pounds, stood upright in the ground at a depth of three metres. It was covered with 400 cubic metres of sand. The explosion of this example did cause a sand plume, but much less than the weight of the bomb would suggest. However, the vibration of the explosion could still be felt two hundred metres away.

It was different with the second bomb, a 260-pounder. It was found seventy centimetres below ground level. The explosion caused an enormous sand plume to rise into the air. According to Antwan Verhoeven of the Explosives Clearing Service, who detonated the bombs, there was a conscious decision not to move them to the municipal blast site further along. They were both sharp bombs", says Verhoeven. We would have had to disarm the detonators first. Then we would have to build a whole structure around them for safety's sake. What we are doing today is much simpler and quicker. We count down from three to one and then they go."

And so it went. Barely fifteen minutes after the explosion, the roads in the area were cleared again. According to Uden alderman Frans van den Berg, there will now be a follow-up inspection of the site, after which the construction of the solar park will be started. This will take several months.

Source: Brabants Dagblad (27-10-2017)