World War II bomb in Kingstown defused

A World War II bomb in Kingstown Harbour should have been detonated yesterday by United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Mary M. Ourisman, if all went according to plan.{{more}}

The bomb, which was discovered by Dive shop operator Kay Wilson on January 16, 2006, lay just off Cane Garden point in 15 metres of water and, according to a release from the US Embassy in Barbados, posed “a major hazard to maritime traffic”.

The detonation was carried out by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service and members of the United States Naval Service (USNS) GRASP Dive Team.

The unexploded ordinance was expected to have been detonated between 10:45 a.m. and 11.45 a.m. yesterday.

Wilson had been diving with a group of German visitors in the area of Kingstown Harbour when she made the discovery.

As a collector of antique bottles, Wilson said she was attracted to the object when she saw it sticking out of the sand.

At the time Wilson said that she thought she had found a very large bottle, as Kingstown Harbour is home to many such items, some dating back to the 17th century.

“When I saw the bomb, I thought it was an old champagne bottle,” she explained to Searchlight in 2006.

It was not until she started dusting sand off the item in an attempt to excavate that she realized it was a piece of ammunition.