Australian man Trent Lee killed in Solomon Islands bomb blast
Опубликованно 23.09.2020 09:20
Newcastle man Trent Lee, believed to be in his 40s, was working for a Norwegian aid agency conducting surveys of unexploded World War II bombs when the blast rocked a residential part of Honiara, local police said.
The Solomon Islands is littered with unexploded bombs and the Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) is an NGO that aims to locate and remove them.
In August, Mr Lee took to Facebook to talk about his dangerous his line of work.
“Pretty much the most dangerous WWII ammunition we find. It’s cocked and ready to fire … one bump and it’s all over,” he wrote, accompanied by two images.
An Australian man and his British colleague died in the blast. Picture: Facebook
NPA confirmed Mr Lee had died, alongside British citizen Stephen Atkinson.
“It is with my deepest regret that we confirm the death of two dear colleagues after a tragic accident,” the organisation’s deputy secretary-general Per Nergaard said in a statement.
“We are devastated by what has happened.”
Authorities are working to clear the site of the explosion while investigators try to determine why explosives were present at a block of residential flats.
“Explosives ordnance disposal officers will have to render the scene safe before forensics and other investigators access the scene to find out what happened,” Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Inspector Clifford Tunuki said.
It is understood the two men were rushed to National Referral Hospital where they were later confirmed dead.
It is with deepest regret that we confirm the death of two dear colleagues after a tragic accident in the Solomon...Posted by Norwegian People's Aid on Sunday, September 20, 2020
A spokesman for NPA said the organisation was “deeply sorry” for the ”tragic accident” involving two of their staff.
“We are devastated by what has happened, and for the loss of two good colleagues. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their families, relatives and staff,” NPA’s secretary-general Henriette Killi Westhrin.
“The safety and security of our staff is our highest priority, said Nergaard, emphasising that the investigation needs to be completed before there can be a conclusion on the cause of events.”
Trent Lee (centre) was killed after a historic WW2 bomb exploded in Honiara in the Solomon Islands.
The Solomon Islands is one of the forgotten battlefields of WWII, but is still littered with wrecks and unexploded bombs left over from the first major offensive in the Pacific nearly 80 years ago.
The Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942-43 was crucial in ensuring the Pacific - and ultimately Australia - did not fall to the Japanese who were constructing an airfield on the island as they built up strategic and communications strongholds in the region.
The US Marines landed on the main island Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942 and, together with Australian forces, engaged in a bloody six-month battle to fend off the Japanese.
Thousands of men died from both sides, more than 50 warships sunk and hundreds of aircraft shot down.
While wreckage remains littered throughout the islands and under the sea, so too do unexploded bombs and munitions.
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