Massive British "Tallboy" bomb from WWII explodes in Poland while being defused

A massive explosion occurred today on the Piast Canal outside the town of Swinoujscie in Poland where a Tallboy bomb used by Britain's Royal Air Force had been discovered. The bomb detonated while a team was in the process of trying to defuse it.

The massive bomb weighed nearly 5,400 kg (12,000 pounds), including 2,400 kg of explosives. Miraculously, no one was injured in the blast. More than 750 people had been evacuated from the area and the mine divers were outside of the danger zone at the time of the blast.

An RAF "Tallboy" deep-penetration bomb. Image: Public domain

Boing Boing reader, FGD13512m, adds:

Dropped by the RAF in 1945 in an attack on the German cruiser Lützow, in case anyone wonders how and why a Tallboy ended up in (or near) the Piast Canal. The canal connects the Baltic Sea with the Oder River.

[H/t Thomas Edwards]

Image: YouTube