Blast from the past: Berry pickers find old explosive near Rigolet
A group of berry pickers from Rigolet got more than they bargained for when they found an undetonated bomb about 40 kilometres from their town.
Melva Williams told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning she was picking bakeapples with family at her father-in-law's secret berry picking spot earlier this week — something they do every year.
"We were on the way back to the boat and I kind of went a little bit of a different way," she said.
"It was about 20 to 30 feet away from the normal route that we take, and I noticed something there that didn't look like it should be there … so I went over to have a look to see what it was, and it appeared to be something that was metal and had something … like a propeller-type thing."
Williams said she was shocked to find such a device while out on a leisurely afternoon.
"I was thinking, 'Holy cow.' We go around in that area out there berry picking every year and it's surprising that it wasn't noticed in the past by anyone else," she said.
Ensuring proper detonation
When Williams showed her family, everyone agreed that the object looked like a bomb. So Williams' brother Max, a Canadian Ranger, contacted the RCMP
Petty Officer First Class Danny Bouchard is part of the fleet diving unit that detonated the bomb. He said the device was an illuminating round used to launch in the air and light up surroundings.
"It contains a very, very limited [amount] of high explosives, and what the explosive is for is just to shoot out a tail and the illumination goes out," he said.
"I guess it's a bomb, but there are worse bombs than that."
While Bouchard said such a piece of ordnance is "somewhat powerful," it's hard to say if it was a live bomb.
"If that was full of high explosives and stuff like that, when we high ordered it [there] would've been a bigger bang," Bouchard said.
Both Williams and Bouchard estimate the bomb to be 40 or 50 years old, leftover from military training camps that used to take place in the area.
Safety first
Once on the scene, Bouchard said his fleet looked around to make sure there were no other similar objects around. For him, public safety is the biggest takeaway from situations like this one.
"If anybody comes across one of those things that looks like a projectile, that looks like a bomb, please just move back and call the nearest RCMP.
"They will be glad to help you see what it is, and then call the appropriate authority and make it safe to the public so people can walk around and be safe," he said.
Safety was top of mind for Williams too.
"I was glad that nothing happened to us or anyone else that was there before us," she said.
"It was a bit of history and a bit of excitement, so we're glad everyone is OK."
