Rhode Island Beach Evacuated After Possible Explosion

There was an explosion on a beach in Rhode Island today.
Rhode Island Beach Evacuated After Possible Explosion

One person was injured. The bomb squad is investigating.

I can't imagine anything that could accidentally explode on a beach, so this sounds suspicious.
A beach full of people sounds like a possible target for terrorism.
It actually is a bit scary, if you consider that landmines could be planted in sand, and would be hard to detect.

a reply to: BlueAjah

Would have guessed somebody playing with leftover fireworks except ...

as a result, a woman in her 50s was thrown several feet into the air and may have struck nearby rocks

Sounds like a serious explosion.

a reply to: BlueAjah

I was thinking maybe something being heated by the sun like a lighter, but the article states a woman in her 50's was thrown several feet into the air. That would be a pretty good explosion. Like you said, maybe a land mine. Of course, it could be something that floated in through the ocean as there are a lot of wars going on. However, it would be a heck of a trip to get there, so I am not so sure. Could possibly be a practice bomb from one of the Navy's test ranges which used to be on an island near Puerto Rico.

Being I live on an island in Florida, I will be watching to find out what it is. We were talking about beaches being a target back around the 4th after the Tunisia attack. If someone was in a boat with an assault rifle it would take authorities at least 20-30 minutes to make an effective response.

a reply to: Halfswede
Beat me to it I see. That is exactly what I was thinking. It had to be a good size explosion.

Cause still unknown. Witnesses reported a guy carrying red bags before the explosion but he was apparently collecting seashells. No smoke or other indications of an explosion but witness describe smelling something like sulphur.

Source says there's "definitely ground disturbance."

Beach expected to reopen tomorrow.

patch.com...

Higher up - Well son, soon we wont need bullets, we have EMP weapons that could knock your mother on her a** from miles away. No one the wiser!

Regular Army employee - We do not have low grade EMP's that would knock my mother on her a**...she's a sizeable lady.

Higher up - Oh yeah?! Where's your Mom right now?!

a reply to: spirit_horse

Yeah I'm going with one of your theories. There was lots of weapon testing off the East Coast before during and after World War II . It could likely be an old munition that washed ashore .

a reply to: Shamrock6

According to the article you posted.

The official stated that there was nothing to indicate that this was "Man Made" .
What the heck? Then what blew up? So beaches have natural gas pockets that ignite at random?

Hmmmm...

I'm in Rhode Island and saw this in the news earlier. Scary!

This article has additional information.
www.providencejournal.com...

Some report a chemical smell after the explosion.

They are on their hands and knees sifting for clues, and digging in the sand with a bob-cat.

Authorities are setting up a command center, so it sounds serious.

The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency is reminding Rhode Islanders to report any suspicious activity they see to law enforcement.

Latest report from NECN has an eyewitness, located about 15yds (approx 14m) away stating she heard the explosion, felt the ground shake, and saw the sand blowing up from the beach as the woman was thrown into the air. Once she was taken from the beach, officials closed the entire beach for safety reasons while investigators try to figure out what happened.

double...post...oops....

a reply to: BlueAjah

Well, if the guy collecting shells had a device (note nothing found or article admits to finding device remains) and that would be good planning to plant it unnoticed and if he gets searched the only thing left is a bag of seashells. The fact that the last article stated they found a bunch of shells dumped in the breakwater further makes it suspicious. Why collect shells only to dump them in the water?

a reply to: BlueAjah

In that article, it also has a witness only about 3 feet (1m) from the explosion saying, "there was no debris or black smoke associated with the “loud boom," which sounded to him like a “gas explosion” though he had no knowledge that was the cause."

originally posted by: spirit_horse
Well, if the guy collecting shells had a device (note nothing found or article admits to finding device remains) and that would be good planning to plant it unnoticed and if he gets searched the only thing left is a bag of seashells. The fact that the last article stated they found a bunch of shells dumped in the breakwater further makes it suspicious. Why collect shells only to dump them in the water?

They didn't say what kind of shells, They could be shells from a party he had where they served "steamers" (steamed clams) and he decided to dump the leftover shells there instead of tossing them in the trash.

originally posted by: Krakatoa
They didn't say what kind of shells, They could be shells from a party he had where they served "steamers" (steamed clams) and he decided to dump the leftover shells there instead of tossing them in the trash.

Larry Mouradijan, DEM’s associate director for natural resources, said that officials are not looking for any suspects and an earlier report of a man carrying red bags near the area before the reported explosion noise turned out to just be dumping sea shells.

Source

True. However, even that would be good cover for planting something and having sea shells to go dump in case questioned. At least they should know who the guy is and if they find a device look into his background, if for no other reason than ruling him out.

originally posted by: Halfswede
a reply to: BlueAjah

Would have guessed somebody playing with leftover fireworks except ...

as a result, a woman in her 50s was thrown several feet into the air and may have struck nearby rocks

Sounds like a serious explosion.

Unless the state police came in and measured the toss...people and news have a funny way of exaggerating the truth..I'm with you on the fireworks...

Dollars to donuts she was the unlucky discoverer of a WW2 era munition that was long-forgotten under the sand. I hope she's ok, but it sounds like it was a pretty powerful blast.

originally posted by: spirit_horse
a reply to: BlueAjah

Well, if the guy collecting shells had a device (note nothing found or article admits to finding device remains) and that would be good planning to plant it unnoticed and if he gets searched the only thing left is a bag of seashells. The fact that the last article stated they found a bunch of shells dumped in the breakwater further makes it suspicious. Why collect shells only to dump them in the water?

Because if you're like me and anyone else who's collected shells for something specific or for uniqueness, you collect a large amount to hand-pick through, then dispose of what you don't want. Pretty common tactic, especially for those who need to stop & sit more frequently (like the elderly) It's just more simple to gather a large bag, take it back to your spot and pick through it than to crouch, bend over, or try to sit at the shore doing it.

Signed,
A Florida-raised beach kid with a huge bottle of shark's teeth collected this way

originally posted by: Nyiah
Dollars to donuts she was the unlucky discoverer of a WW2 era munition that was long-forgotten under the sand. I hope she's ok, but it sounds like it was a pretty powerful blast.

originally posted by: spirit_horse
a reply to: BlueAjah



With all the people that have used a metal detector over this beach for the last thirty years...no major storms as of lately to erode the sand...no munitions...

a reply to: BlueAjah
Weird I was in the area at Surf Fest Didn't hear anything about it. There have been reports of bottle bombs (made by juvenile delinquents) but nothing that would send a women flying threw the air.