Harvesting beets has never been as exciting as today for Roel Duursma from Barger-Compascuum. During the work he received an object in his harvester that was the size of a beet, but ultimately turned out to be completely different. It is said to be a phosphorus bomb, probably from the Second World War.
The police received a report about a fire in an agricultural vehicle and rushed to the Verlengde Oosterdiep in Barger-Compascuum. There they saw smoke coming from the vehicle, after which it turned out that a possible explosive device was smoking. Shortly afterwards it was decided to call in the Defense Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (EOD).
Duursma first took his own measures and retrieved a fire extinguisher to extinguish the incipient flames and smoke. “But that was a bit more difficult than expected,” says Duursma. When he was finally told by the EOD that it was an explosive, he stood and watched for a moment.
“I’ve never experienced this before. I was lucky it didn’t explode.” After the EOD arrived on site, no half measures were taken. The bomb was detonated on land, allowing Duursma to focus on work again. They hope to be back on land tomorrow.
