Finnish Darwin Award. The perils of amature EOD work....

**hassiman** · 12-12-2014, 09:42 PM

2013 Darwin Award: Some Finnish

(13 September 2013, Finland) Two brothers-in-law were united by a common interest that is shared by a small but regrettably significant proportion of the population: collecting war weapons. By the date of their deaths, they had collected over 100 frag grenades, bazookas, fuse materials and ammunition from the forests of Lapland. The men enjoyed collecting the weapons as trophies, yet had no training in the handling and disposal of explosives! One can see how this is all going to end.

Around 6pm On A Friday Night The 24- And 27-Year-Old Men Were Both In The Garage With Their Antique Weapons Collection. The Older Man Had Finished Defusing A Grenade And Was carefully removing the payload. The object of his attention was not a smAll Hand Grenade But Rather A Large 75-Mm Anti-Tank Grenade, 42 Centimeters (17 Inches) Long! Ironically The Attempt To Render It Harmless resulted in the opposite outcome. In the northern town of Kemi the peace of the garage was shattered by a small explosion. The man holding the grenade died in the ambulance, and the other survived with serious injuries.

In the aftermath of the explosion 200 people within a 150-meter perimeter surrounding the garage were evacuated to a school, and then dozens of kilograms of explosives were safely removed by the Peräpohjolan Police Department. Evacuees returned to their homes with gratitude for their lives. If more war weapons had been set off in a chain reaction then there would have been victims and damaged buildings up to 300 meters away from the garage!

Thankfully it was not a full detonation; rather than explode the old explosive material combusted and burned. Since no bystanders were injured, this is a wonderfully apt nomination for Darwin Award plus Honorable Mention. "In Finland you do not disassemble bomb, bomb disassemble you."

**harryamb2** · 12-12-2014, 09:51 PM

the perils of relics.

**Jerry B** · 12-12-2014, 09:53 PM

They were talking about Darwin awards on the radio today and mentioned a man who had sent a letter bomb but did not pay enough postage on it so it was returned to sender with predictable results.

**Aleksander P** · 10-28-2015, 10:29 PM

Ouch. My grandfather and his friends threw rocks on German and Finnish mines that they found in postwar Lapland, luckily they didn't blow themselves up like these guys

.

**Gunny Hartmann** · 10-28-2015, 10:38 PM

As a teenager i used to set off 50cal bullets i had found on Burtonwood airbase with a centre punch!...

**MAP** · 10-28-2015, 11:05 PM

by Gunny Hartmann

As a teenager i used to set off 50cal bullets i had found on Burtonwood airbase with a centre punch!...

kids will be kids. We used to dip a tennis ball in kerosene, light it and play street hockey. I was the goalie...

in those days parents didn't mind these youthful indiscretions. Just part of being a kid.

**Larboard** · 10-28-2015, 11:06 PM

I think we all did something really stupid with a gun or a live round while growing up... Luckily I still have all my fingers and never injured anyone else. Very close I think, but I must have a guardian angel watching ;-)

**CBH** · 10-29-2015, 03:28 PM

I find it funny that this tragic event is laughed at , while the death of a tank collector , from a live fire misfire is morned . They were both fellow collectors who made a mistake with munitions . The Fin wasn't an Ex EOD and I'm sure the tanker wasn't an Ex Tanker , and both suffered from a lax view on safety , which cost them dearly. As collectors war material , we must always remember this stuff was made to kill , and treat it was the respect it deserves . Play Safe Kids

**hassiman** · 10-29-2015, 05:57 PM

I happened upon a YouTube video that show a Russian digger using a wrench and a sledged hammer to remove the fuses from dug WW2 live German 80mm mortar rounds. I would hazard a guess that that individual is no longer among the living. Years ago I received an AZ23 contact fuse for an 88mm round from a digger in France. It came through customs.... It was live.

**Aleksander P** · 10-29-2015, 09:54 PM

by CBH

I find it funny that this tragic event is laughed at , while the death of a tank collector , from a live fire misfire is morned . They were both fellow collectors who made a mistake with munitions . The Fin wasn't an Ex EOD and I'm sure the tanker wasn't an Ex Tanker , and both suffered from a lax view on safety , which cost them dearly. As collectors war material , we must always remember this stuff was made to kill , and treat it was the respect it deserves . Play Safe Kids

I have to agree with you. Obviously these guys didnt know what they were doing but the same goes for the deceased tankers. These things are not to be played around with.