Sea mine found in Vlissingen destroyed on the open sea

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NOS News•today, 4:15 PM•Amended today, 4:56 PM

The WWII sea mine found on Tuesday in Vlissingen was destroyed on the open sea this afternoon. According to Omroep Zeeland, this happened about 13 kilometers from the coast and at a depth of 15 meters.

The mine was discovered on Tuesday during work at the bottom of the water in front of the Piet Heinkade. Shipping was stopped and locks could temporarily not be used due to the find.

The sea mine was removed from the water this morning and loaded onto the back of a navy diving vessel.

When the mine was destroyed, seawater rose tens of meters:

Vlissingen naval mine destroyed on the open sea

The mine’s cargo was too large to destroy on land. There was no inflammation, which is why the mine has been left in the water for the past few days.

The sea mine contained 726 kilos of chemical explosives and belongs to the heaviest category of sea mines, Defense reports. “Germans dropped these from airplanes during the war, among other things.”

According to the Ministry of Defense, explosives from the Second World War are still regularly found. “But an explosive of this size is not found too often, especially at this location.”