Bell Island Boom

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Bell Island is an island located off the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in Conception Bay. On April 2, 1978, there was a loud explosion on Bell Island which caused damage to some houses and the electrical house wiring in the surrounding area. Two cupshaped holes about two feet deep and three feet wide marked the major impact. A number of TV sets in Lance Cove, the surrounding community, exploded at the time of the blast. It was initially thought to be caused by ball lightning.[7] Meteorologists stated that atmospheric conditions at the time were not conducive to lightning. The boom was heard 55 kilometers away in Cape Broyle. The impact occurred in the Bickfordville area, on the southwestern side of the island.
The incident was investigated by John Warren and Robert Freyman from Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, in New Mexico. It has been speculated that, due to the two men’s place of work, they were investigating a secret weapons test and were military attachés. However, reacting to data received from the Vela satellites, they were in fact investigating a “superbolt” – an unusually large bolt of lightning, lasting an unusually long time: about a thousandth of a second.

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