World War II sea mine blown up off Isle of Wight
- Published
The mine seconds before it was blown up in the Solent
A Royal Navy bomb disposal team have carried out a controlled explosion on a World War II mine off the Isle of Wight.
The 1,500lb mine, believed to have been dropped from a German aircraft, was dragged up from the Solent seabed by a dredger off Southsea on Thursday.
It was towed by Navy clearance divers to a detonation site off Bembridge and destroyed just before 11:00 GMT.
The explosion created a plume of water about 300m (984ft) high.
An exclusion zone for shipping was put in place while the mine was blown up
Royal Navy diver Richard Ellis said: "These mines were laid in their thousands during WWII but are rarely encountered these days."
An exclusion zone was set up in the sea around the mine while it was blown up.
- Published23 November 2015
- Published5 November 2015
