Inert Grenade Made Into a Firework Injuries Boy

Lakeland, Florida a 9 year-old boy remains in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital as a result of an explosion that occurred in his home. The explosion reportedly occurred when the boy used a lighter on an improvised firework designed from a WWII era MK II hand grenade he was holding. The improvised firework was reportedly constructed by the boy's father. It all started when the boy's mother purchased an inert WWII era grenade from an auction house about two years ago. Allegedly the boy and his father decided that the grenade would make a great July 4th firework so they took the powder out of dozens of firecrackers and poured it into the empty grenade body and inserted a wick into it.

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Local Fisherman Carries UXO To Police Station

Cotabato City, Philippines A local 35-year old fisherman found a UXO item along the shoreline of the Rio Grande de Mindanao as he was docking his boat along the river bank during low tide. The UXO was half buried in the sand and sediment. Concerned that someone may be harmed by the UXO, the man took it upon himself to uncover the UXO and personally hand delivery it to the police station.

The police called the 6th Infantry Division Bomb Disposal Unit in for technical support in dealing with the UXO. Bomb disposal technicians identified the UXO as a live WWII era munition (specific type not reported). The technicians safely detonated the UXO to dispose of the explosive safety hazard in a controlled detonation operation.

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Da Bomb Outside of Da Bar

Kodiak, Alaska for nearly 20 years an old WWII aerial bomb hung outside of Big Jim's Little Bar as the owner of the bar assumed that it was loaded with inert concrete. Bar patrons referred to the wall decoration as "Da Bomb" as someone over the years painted those words alongside body of the bomb. When the bar changed owners, a local resident ended up with the bomb. The resident decided that we would donate the munition (shown in the image below) to the Kodiak Military History Museum so he called the museum to pick up the bomb.

Kodiak

The museum curator traveled to the man's house to inspect the bomb. The curator noticed that the bomb cavity contained a fill material that did not exactly resemble concrete. Doing some research, the curator identified the bomb as a WWII era AN Mk I Mod 3 1,263 pound aerial bomb. Concerned that the filler was potentially energetic material, the curator called the EOD unit based out of Fort Richardson for further analysis.

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Three Killed in Illegal UXO Scraping Operation

Yandina, Solomon Islands three people were killed including a child and two adults when a UXO item exploded during an illegal munitions dismantling effort. Two other children nearby were critically injured in the blast and had to be taken to the local hospital. The two adults were reportedly attempting to extract the explosives out of WWII era UXO when one of them exploded. Local police responding to the incident reported that the two adults were boiling the UXO in hot water to melt the explosives out so that it could then be used for fishing. The use of explosive in fishing known as "dynamite fishing" is an illegal practice where explosives are used to kill and stun fish in an area which are then scoped up with a net.

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Man Drops Munitions Off To Museum

Fort William, United Kingdom An 82-year old man dropped off a donation to West Highland Museum, a pair of WWII incendiary bombs wrapped in a plastic grocery bag. The man explained to museum curator that he found the munitions back in 1943 when he was 15-years old. He explained to the woman that he and a schoolmate at found several incendiary bombs in a tree near their home. He explained how the bombs were safe because he and his friend "sawed the ends off to get the explosives out". Over the years, the devices eventually were made their way as bookends which sat on the man's shelf for over 50 years before he decided it was time to donate them to the museum.

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Going Once Going Twice Ordnance Almost Sold At Auction

Quogue, New York Two brothers working with an auctioneer preparing for an upcoming auction of their late parents' estate came across an old artillery shell among the items to be sold. The brothers explained to the auctioneer that the shell came from their late father who brought it back as a souvenir from WWI. Reportedly the late father kept the shell in his back yard for all those years. Since the two brothers could not verify that the shell was inert, the auctioneer opted not to include it in the items for sale and also decided to call the local police to have the munition inspected for possible explosives.

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Old Car Part Turns Into Landmine Scare

Ashton-Under-Lyne, United Kingdom Two amateur photographers and brothers ages 24 and 39 taking pictures at the Park Bridge Heritage Center came across a metallic item half buried in the ground. Intrigued, the brothers decided to uncover it and take it with them to their parent's house three miles away. There they washed the dirt off the item in the utility sink. After the item was fully exposed, the two suspected that it may be a landmine. A quick search of the internet on landmines convinced the two un-trained civilians that the item was indeed a WWII era landmine.

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Boy Takes UXO Home To Use As a Wall Decoration

Nantucket, Massachusetts An annual carnival turned out to be more than just rides and cotton candy for one 14 year old teenage boy after he came across a UXO. The boy reportedly found the UXO after wondering away from the carnival area with a friend. The munition, reportedly as a rocket (type unknown) was found near the Tom Nevers Navy Base on Navy FUDS bombing range.

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Banana Boat and Explosive Fish Bombs Leads to Arrests

Solomon Islands The Royal Solomon Islands Police arrested two men at Alligator Creek after confiscating two bottles of explosives suspected of being "fish bombs". The men, ages 27 and 19, allegedly extracted the explosives from WWII UXO (type of UXO and explosives not reported) which are scattered throughout the islands. The explosives were placed into glass bottles and then a crude wick was place into each as a means to initiate the device. Fishermen have been known to use the devices to stun and kill fish in an area in order to harvest their catch.

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Fishermen Attempt to Dismantle UXO

Guadalcanal Island Four fishermen were hospitalized with serious injuries when a UXO item they were dismantling exploded. Police are still investigating the accident but reports indicate that the men were trying to dismantle a WW II era UXO in order to extract the explosives out for use in a practice known as "Dynamite Fishing". Dynamite Fishing involves setting off an underwater explosive charge in an area which stuns nearby fish. When the fish float to the surface they are gathered up. The men are reported to be in serious but stable condition.

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