麻豆传媒映画

A man in northwestern France has been badly burned on the fingers and leg after picking up a 鈥榩ebble鈥� from a beach that turned out to be a piece of phosphorus from World War Two.

Beno卯t Mabire was walking with his wife and two children on the Saint-C么me-de-Fresn茅 beach, Calvados (Normandy) on November 8, when he picked up an interesting-looking pink 鈥榩ebble鈥�. His wife washed it in the sea, and he placed it in his coat pocket to keep.

He was especially attracted by the unusual 鈥渋ntense鈥� pink colour.

However, the 鈥榩ebble鈥� was actually a piece of white phosphorus dating from World War Two, and it quickly caught fire. Once dried and stored in a pocket, it had been rubbing against the other stones in the man鈥檚 pocket, and the friction and air caused it to ignite.

The man only noticed when he saw smoke coming from his pocket. His trousers then caught on fire as they had been next to the coat pocket. He suffered second-degree burns to his fingers and leg.

He is now warning others who may be walking on Normandy beaches to 鈥減ay very close attention to pretty little pebbles鈥�.

Pieces of white phosphorus may appear as red, pink, or yellow 鈥榩ebbles鈥�, and are likely to be remnants of phosphorus bombs from the conflict.

The Calvados prefect issued a warning on the same subject, and showed a photo of a reddish piece of phosphorus. It said: 鈥淸The stones] do not dissolve in water, but burn when in contact with air.鈥�

It added that the phosphorus can cause burns that need to be treated in a 鈥渉ospital setting鈥�.

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