An unexploded bomb dating to World War II forced a South Jersey canal to close overnight, leaving dozens of people stuck in Delaware.
The bomb was discovered Monday evening, during low tide in the canal area, NJ.com reported. The Coast Guard responded by closing down the waterway until daylight.
At the time, a passenger ferry from Lewes, Del., was headed for Cape May with 70 people on board, according to Delaware NBC affiliate WRDE. The ferry was forced to turn around and head back to Lewes for the night.
A bomb squad from Atlantic City was called in to disarm the unexploded ordinance, NJ.com reported. Ferry service resumed at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The passengers who were sent back to Delaware were offered hotel accommodations, though some chose to drive to their destinations, according to WRDE. While the ferry ride between Lewes and Cape May takes around 90 minutes, it’s about a 3-hour drive around Delaware Bay between the two towns.
The Cape May Canal was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1942, with the idea of helping to provide safe travel up and down the Atlantic Coast without worrying about German submarines. Unexploded bombs are nothing new in the area.
In 2021, unexploded ordinance was found in a yard in Cape May and later detonated on the beach. Two years later, another unused bomb was spotted in Lower Township, just south of the canal.
