Amber washes up from time to time on German beaches. Photo: DPA
Posted on 01/26/2014 1:45:45 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
Amber washes up from time to time on German beaches. Photo: DPA
A pensioner suffered third-degree burns after picking up what he thought was amber on a beach in north Germany, only to find it was a chunk of white phosphorus when it ignited in his pocket and set him on fire.
The 67-year-old was walking along the Baltic coastline on Monday afternoon when he spotted a pale yellow stone he recognized as being amber – which often washes up on north-eastern German beaches.
But so do chunks of white phosphorous since they were used in World War II bombs. And to the untrained eye, the two can look similar.
Unfortunately for the man, his find was white phosphorus, not amber, police said in a statement.
After slipping it into his pocket and continuing on his walk, it burst into flames and set him on fire.
Despite being in the relatively remote area of Steine, near Kiel in Schleswig Holstein, there was an angler nearby who spotted the burning man and called an ambulance.
White phosphorus cannot be extinguished with water, and the man suffered third-degree burns. On Wednesday he was still being treated at a specialist clinic.
Schleswig Holstein police confirmed in a statement that the Hubertsberg beach had been shut off and was being searched for further munitions.
The state's office for criminal investigation is warning walkers to never pick up something if they are not sure what it is.
yikes!
Bring Da Amber Lamps!
Never store Willie Pete next to your peter or your willie.
I would seriously question whether this guy was telling the truth...
A clue as to what happened to the Amber Room?
We still don’t know where that went.
Ouch. That had to hurt.
Could have been worse. Could have been Na.
Amber! Amber! Pants on fire!
After all, his pants were on fire.
Next time you see a guy with pants on fire, better put out an Amber Alert!
Casualty of WW-II.....
Poor guy. I hope he recovers well.
Willie Pete can still be lethal after almost 70 years lying in salt water?
It was last seen at the other end of the Baltic. If either the Russians shipped it east, or the Germans west, and it went down somewhere en route, would the prevailing currents carry the broken up amber to the German coast near the outlet of the Baltic? About 160 ships went down during Operation Hannibal along most of the length of the Baltic, and some of those could be candidates.
It’s pretty clear that one way or the other, the Soviets were responsible for the loss.
“The state’s office for criminal investigation is warning walkers to never pick up something if they are not sure what it is”.
How dumb we humans have become when we need to be instructed by the state’s office for criminal investigation not to pick up unknown objects.
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