An American cargo ship which sank off the Kent coast 74 years ago packed full of explosives could accidentally blow up at any time, causing devastating tsunamis and more than £1 billion of damage.
Lying half-submerged near the mouth of the Thames estuary, the SS Richard Montgomery grounded on a sandbank more than seven decades ago while holding 1,400 tonnes of high explosives in its forward hold.
If detonated the explosives have the potential to cause one of the most devastating non-nuclear peace-time explosions ever seen, experts have warned.
In fact, the Florida-built vessel poses such a real threat it is constantly being monitored by the government, with a 1,640 feet wide exclusion zone in place to protect the wreck.
The SS Richard Montgomery sank and split in two off the coast of Sheerness in August 1944, KentLivereports.
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Source: PlymouthLive
