4.5-Magnitude Blast: Sunken Ship Shakes Continents

A rescue team's explosive charge accidentally detonated World War II munitions on the seabed of the English Channel, triggering seismic waves measuring 4.5 magnitude. The incident occurred on July 22, 1967, during an attempt to clear the seabed around the sunken vessel SS Kielce. The blast was recorded by 25 observatories, leaving a crater 47 by 20 meters and damaging buildings in Folkestone, but no one was injured.

An explosive charge used by salvage teams to clear the seabed around the sunken ship SS Kielce accidentally detonated World War II munitions. The incident occurred on July 22, 1967, in the English Channel, when specialists were trying to breach the deformed hull of the ship, which sank in March 1946 after a collision with the steamer Lombardy. The blast was recorded by 25 seismic observatories in Europe and North America, with its force estimated at 4.5 on the Richter scale and a TNT equivalent of about 2,000 tons. The shockwave damaged buildings in coastal Folkestone, but no one was injured. The explosion left a crater 47 meters long, 20 meters wide, and 6 meters deep. Today, experts study this case to prevent disasters when working with sunken arsenals.