14 DAY TRIAL // A pensioner from Steine, Germany was taken to the hospital with third-degree burns after a piece of phosphorus exploded in his pocket. He mistakenly placed the chunk in his pocket believing it was amber and continued walking without knowing he had just set a time bomb.
The 67-year-old man was walking around Hubertsberg beach in Steine, Scheleswig Holstein when he noticed a small yellow stone and picked it p for safe holding believing it was amber. The senior man was aware of the fact that amber usually washes up on that beach but he didn't know that this particular stone was actually white phosphorus.
He slipped the yellow stone into his pocket and continues walking until the substance ignited and sat him on fire. White phosphorus is a dangerous substance, very flammable if placed in the air above 30 degrees, and having it in his pocket, warmed by his body heat, the alleged amber exploded, explains The Independent.
Fortunately for him, a man spotted him in distress and alerted emergency services that rapidly came to the elder's aid. The pensioner is currently resting in the hospital, receiving treatment for his extensive burns. The beach where he was wandering around had been closed off to the public because of reported munitions and dangerous substances washed on the area by the water.
White phosphorus was very common during the World War II period because of its highly incendiary proprieties that made it useful in battle. The substance was used for igniting all kinds of materials, to produce thick and visible smoke and it held a major advantage because it cannot be extinguished with water.
Incendiary bombs made with phosphorus were very popular during the Second World War and remains from several ones are being washed ashore posing as a threat to locals' wellbeing. The same mistake the pensioner made was made by two women back in 2012 who also ended up in the hospital with severe burns after confusing phosphorus with amber.