Rhode Island fishermen find undetonated WWII explosive

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. — A small boat fishing off the coast of Rhode Island reeled in a rare catch, but it wasn’t seafood.

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Glenn Westcott, the captain of “Ocean State,” told WJAR that he and his crew were fishing 4 nautical miles east of Block Island on Tuesday when they noticed something odd.

“There was something in the net and it dropped down, bumped on the stern, which is scary now, considering it,” Wescott told WLNE. “We packed it all in and left it alone.”

The crew reeled in a World War II MK 6, which weighs 520 pounds — 267 of which is TNT, the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic told WJAR.

The crew called the Coast Guard, which escorted the crew off the boat for the day, leaving the explosive onboard the boat until the naval bomb squad could remove it, WLNE reported.

The area where the explosive was found is the site of a battle in WWII, a spokesperson for the Navy told WJAR. The device found is believed to be one of 195 that were used to take down a German U-boat.

The Navy Explosive Ordnance Mobile Unit and U.S. Coast Guard took the device a mile offshore Wednesday and detonated it safely, WJAR reported.

“It was foggy, and it was raining … I couldn’t see anything, and you know, after all I had just gone through, I just wanted to see the damn thing blow up,” Westcott told WLNE.

Westcott couldn’t see the blast, but he could feel it, he told WJAR.

“We heard a popping, suction-y sound. It was like somebody racked a big, big hammer against the side of the boat.”

Officials told WJAR that there were no injuries, and no marine mammals were hurt by the blast.

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