In 1955, a thunderstorm in Belgium set off 40,000 pounds of buried explosives left over from WW1

Preparations for the devastating start to the Messines battle slated for June 7, 1917 were already underway, with 21 mines already laid. For some reason though, it was decided to set off only 19 of the mines, with the two remaining dormant well beyond the end of the war.

Some say the British lost details of where they had buried the two mines, something that worried the Belgian authorities. Ten years after World War II (June 17, 1955) one of the two mines exploded unexpectedly following a thunderstorm near a place called Le Pelerin. Electricity in this area had started installation from the ’40 through the ‘50s, and unknowingly, a pylon was erected above the location of the mine. The explosion was set off by lightning that struck the pylon, sparking off the mine underneath.
Fortunately, there were no people within the vicinity, with a cow being the only casualty. The resulting destruction was more extensive though, with a crater being formed in the area.