Navy Divers Relocate Bomb to Save Australian Reef

Sydney, Australia An Australian Navy EOD team responded to a call of an unexploded bomb initially discovered by a fisherman on Elizabeth Reef near Lord Howe Island.

The fisherman took pictures of the ordnance and reported it to authorities. Navy divers travelled to the spot of the find and removed the device by floating it to the surface and towing it farther out to sea where it was dropped into 1,800-foot deep waters. The unexploded bomb was identified as a 45-KG bomb.

According to Senior Marine Parks Officer John Pritchard said, "That depth is really safe. It's not going to ever get washed back up onto the reef. There's no deep-sea fishing or trawling allowed out there. It's a recreational fishing zone only. The chances of that UXO ever coming back to the surface is negligible."

It's unclear why the Navy divers did not counter-charge the item rather than dump it after towing it to deeper waters.