Magnet fishermen had a heart-pounding experience in Scotland when their pastime took an explosive turn.
While dredging a canal in Linlithgow, Scotland on October 10, the group of fisherman accidentally reeled in a live hand grenade from WWII.
The group, known for their TikTok channel, “Magnet Fishing Edinburgh,” where they showcase their metal catches to over 475,000 followers, never expected their hobby to lead to such a dangerous situation.
Magnet fisherman find grenade
The incident began innocently enough, with the group using magnet-tipped ropes to retrieve metal artifacts from the water and coming up empty handed for the first half of their day on the canal.
Typically during an outing they find tools, old helmets, car keys, and once they even pulled in Yamaha motorcycle, but have never reeled in something as explosive as they were about to find.
It was on the second attempt at throwing during their filmed adventure that one of them reeled in something extremely dangerous – a live World War II grenade.
According to one of the magnet fisherman, Bob, that’s when the “Nerves started kicking in.”
The New York Post reported that when Bob and his crew reeled in the grenade, they tried to “make sure that everyone was secure and safe.”
They advised people walking nearby to take an alternative route and promptly contacted the police.
Authorities responded quickly, bringing in a bomb squad to handle the situation on the water.
The group anxiously watched as experts carefully dealt with the unexploded ordnance.
After ensuring the area was clear, bomb technicians safely detonated the grenade in a nearby field.
“The officer came over and told us, ‘We’ve got good news and bad news,” Bob reported.
“The good news is you’ve saved Linlithgow, but the bad news is your magnet will be getting blown up with the grenade.’”
Magnet fisherman reel in another explosive
That wasn’t the end of their dangerous adventure. Not to be deterred by a single grenade, the group went back to the same canal days later and made another explosive find.
In a video uploaded five days after the first incident, a law enforcement official can be seen looking into the canal in dismay, while standing behind an area that was cordoned off to the public.
One commenter asked if the footage was from the event on October 10, but the channel clarified that they had indeed found a second explosive in the same area.
