In a remarkable turn of events, a family narrowly avoided disaster by unintentionally posing for photographs next to an unexploded World War II mine, which was initially mistaken for a harmless buoy.
Kelly Gravell and her two daughters accidentally found the seaweed-covered object on a beach in Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, last Wednesday.
The 32-year-old woman was taken aback when her family’s favorite beach was abruptly shuttered five days later.
Carmarthenshire Council rangers assessed the device as a 70-year-old bomb and immediately summoned the bomb squad to defuse the potential threat. Following a controlled detonation, scientists performed a big explosion on the far side of the port, as seen on dramatic footage.
Gareth, the father, turned to Twitter to share his amazement, posting photos of Erin, six, and Ellis, four, playing with the concealed bomb.
His tweet humorously noted, “So the buoy my kids were jumping on all weekend turns out to be a WWII bomb. Oops.”
Ms. Gravell stated that on their beach outing, they were more interested in the barnacles on the object than in its genuine nature.
With the tide up, the family accidently came across the historic bomb, dismissing it as a buoy. Even a light-hearted remark about it being a “big bomb” was made without hesitation.
Ms. Gravell reflected on the situation, saying, “We were so close to disaster – it’s shocking.” The pair, who own a waste management company, indicated their desire to return to the beach, underlining that while they would not be excessively anxious, they would exercise extra caution.
Ms. Gravell stated, “I would not be concerned about returning, but we would certainly be extra cautious when we do. We’ll surely think twice before playing with something like that again, and we went down to see it blow up.”
Councillor Meryl Gravell, executive board member for leisure at Carmarthenshire Council, told the public that necessary measures had been taken to handle the situation. Despite the trouble caused by the temporary beach closure, she apologized to the public.