Explosives detonated by bomb squad shake Mossburn
Powergel detonated by the bomb squad at Mossburn on Thursday night had been owned by the brother of a man who was killed while trying to dispose of explosive materials.
A police officer said he was ‘’quite happy’’ to apologise to members of the Mossburn community who were alarmed by two explosions in the town on Thursday night.
Further detonations were planned for yesterday.
Police area response manager for Western Southland, Senior Sergeant Peter Graham, said a family member of Donny Woodford, who died on February 1, had since found Powergel in a shed and contacted police about it.
Woodford died in an explosion in the remote Waterloo Valley in Dunrobin. His family said he was trying to dispose of disused Powergel, which he had previously used in his fencing work to blast holes in the ground for strainer posts.
His brother Malvin Woodford said yesterday it was his Powergel that was taken to the golf course and let off on Thursday.
He had also used it in his fencing contracting work. “Five years ago, I had a bout of bowel cancer and knocked off fencing, and it’s been sitting surplus here since. So I spoke to the local policeman 2½ weeks ago, and he got the bomb squad to come and collect it.”
He said the Powergel and detonators were in a storeroom on his property, but he had separated them, and the detonators had been under lock and key. He also had Cordtex detonating cord, which was taken by the bomb squad. “It’s all gone now.”
The New Zealand Defence Force bomb squad assessed the Powergel on Thursday night, and deemed that 7½ sticks of it were unstable and had to be dealt with immediately. They were taken to the Mossburn Golf Club and detonated.
The explosions could be heard 15km away at Castlerock, and caused concern in the community. “The golf club, immediate neighbours and Mr Woodford’s family were all informed, but we have taken some learnings from it, and we should have perhaps warned the local fire brigade,’’ Graham said.
“It’s a double-edged sword – if we advertise these things, then we get a large group of people that turn up to watch, and we can’t have that from a safety point of view. If someone is killed by a flying rock, where does that leave us?
“It’s unfortunate the booms have upset people, and I’m happy to apologise to the community for that.’’
Graham said the disposal had been scheduled for yesterday but the Defence Force arrived at Mossburn early and decided that the situation could not wait.
A further 12 sticks of Powergel would be detonated on the farm yesterday, he said.
An emulsion-based explosive, Powergel is used in the mining industry and for quarry blasting.
A Defence Force spokesperson said its explosive ordnance disposal team responded to a request for assistance from police at two addresses in Mossburn, including the golf course, where several items of concern were discovered.
The items were investigated and identified as old commercial explosives in a deteriorated state, which were disposed of in a safe manner on site.
The spokesperson said anyone who discovered a potentially dangerous item should always exercise caution until the item was deemed safe by an expert.
“If you do discover something that might be dangerous, remain clear of the item and contact NZ Police as soon as possible. This includes commercial explosives that are old, deteriorated or no longer required.”
Southland District mayor Rob Scott said: “I would have thought there would have been better communication with the community – it’s caused some concern.
“They were pretty big explosions if they were heard at Castlerock.”
Mossburn volunteer fire brigade chief Lance Helliwell said the two explosions, which were about 20 minutes apart, ‘’shook the town’’.
“They didn’t tell us anything about it, which is probably a wee bit disappointing,’’ he said yesterday morning.