Dutch man badly hurt by exploding boules ball; Experiment a "complete failure," prior victim said
This article was updated with more information about the two separate incidents.
One Dutch person was critically injured and another suffered minor wounds after a boules ball in a fire pit exploded. The blast sent shrapnel flying towards the tourists, Belgian police said to local media.
It happened at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday at a chalet in Rivage, a small village in the Ardennes Mountains. The most seriously injured man was taken to an area hospital with wounds to his head. His condition was said to be life-threatening. Authorities said the man is in his thirties.
The accident was caused when the group of friends staying on holiday at the chalet decided to put the petanque ball in a fire pit. The ball heated up and “exploded like a grenade,” police told newswire ANP. Pieces of the ball struck the man in the back of the skull.
It was not the first accident of this kind to cause injuries. If there’s any moisture in the ball, the heat will create steam and build up enormous pressure inside it. When the pressure becomes too great, the ball explodes.
Several years ago, a similar incident happened to another Dutch person. John de Jong put boules balls in a campfire just to see what would happen, he told RTL Nieuws. Not long after, one of them exploded.
“I heard a bang and a beep in my ears. I saw nothing more and heard nothing more.”
He told RTL Nieuws, “Five years ago, I came up with the idea of putting a boules ball on the barbecue to see what would happen.” He provided video showing him placing several balls into the coals and using a hairdryer to make them even hotter.
One of the balls exploded right in his face. Luckily for De Jong, the two large ball pieces hit the other balls instead of going straight for him. Shrapnel struck him in the face, but not one of the large piece of glowing hot metal.
“I had burn marks all over my face and about 30 splinters in my eye,” De Jong told the broadcaster. “Yes, of course, it wasn’t very smart. That experiment was actually a complete failure.”
The police of Stravelot-Malmedy urged people to keep the balls away from fire.