The joint control room of the North Holland security regions ‘failed’ to inform the mayor of Zandvoort and the Kennemerkust police about the dismantling of a heavy German bomb on 25 January. Mayor David Moolenburgh informed the city council about this. The explosion of the 500 kg bomb, more than three kilometers from the coast, sent a large shock wave through the village.
A data cable is being laid in the North Sea off the coast of Zandvoort and the German bomb from the Second World War was found during soil research. The company that discovered the bomb then called in the Coast Guard. He in turn called in the maritime department of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service and reported to the control room of the joint security regions.
The bomb was then towed to a safe place and under normal circumstances marine life there would have to be chased away by hanging a so-called ‘sealscarer’ in the water. That is a device that causes an annoying noise for fish.
A spokesman for the Royal Netherlands Navy said: already know about NH News that this time it was necessary to act very quickly because of the rapid change of the current. Returning later was not an option, because shipping traffic would then run too great a risk and the bomb could ignite spontaneously.
Huge blow
The ‘sealscarer’ could therefore not be used, that took too long. At first sight there was no sea life in sight and then that huge blow followed. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service itself was also surprised by the enormous shock wave that followed.
View here how local residents at the time were shocked by the loud bang. Text continues below the video.
‘We went around the house to see if something had fallen over’ – NH Nieuws
‘Limited damage’
GroenLinks in Zandvoort wanted to know from the mayor whether he had been informed of the dismantling and how extensive the damage was caused by the blow. And whether the Zandvoorts should not have been informed about the upcoming explosion.
Moolenburgh says that the damage in the village has been very limited. It concerns only two reports of window damage. According to the municipality, it is difficult to estimate the damage to nature. In any case, no dead animals washed ashore were found near Zandvoort, but it is striking that more towards the north shortly after the explosion. two dead porpoises have been found along the coast†
Communication needs to be better
Moolenburgh says that he did not need to be formally informed, because the bomb was at sea outside the municipal boundaries. Still, it should have been different, he thinks. The common control room of the North Holland security regions knew about the upcoming explosion and should have passed it on to him. ‘There they failed to warn the mayor through the public order and safety adviser. The Kennemerkust police was also not informed. Through the chairman of the Security Region, we have strongly urged that the instructions at the control room be tightened up,” Moolenburgh wrote to the council.
He also informed the Coast Guard that there was only an hour between the report to the control room and the ignition. That had been far too short for him to be able to properly inform the residents. At the next administrative coastal consultation, he wants to discuss the subject further and tighten up mutual agreements.
The fact that the bomb generated such a large shock wave is most likely due to the (hard) composition of the soil around the site of the decommissioning. As a result, the vibrations may have moved further than usual.