Missing Persons Investigation Turns Up Munition

Watervliet, New York New York State Police divers searching for evidence in the case of missing 21-year-old Noel Alkaramla, found a 40 mm round in the Hudson River. Navy divers were called in to remove and dispose of the ordnance which is unrelated to the case.

It is unknown how the UXO ended up in the river, but the search was being conducting in the area north of the Watervliet Arsenal where artillery pieces are made.

Seawolf Missile Tail Reeled in by UK Fishermen

Brixham, United Kingdom A British Royal Navy EOD team was called to investigate a reported munition item aboard a fishing boat in Brixham. The item was identified as a spent propulsion unit from a Seawolf missile, which would have been fired from a Naval vessel.

Once deemed inert, the ordnance was transferred from the fishing vessel to the quay and then to the EOD's vehicle for disposal.

Resident Finds UXO Along Cape Cod Beach

East Falmouth, Massachusetts A local resident called police to report finding "old ammunition shell" on the beach. Falmouth Police responded, and later contacted the Mass State Police Hazardous Devices Unit. The Bomb Technicians moved the device to an open area off Blacksmith Shop Road where they safely disposed on the ordnance through open detonation.

Sea Mine Sparks Alert on Scottish Coast

Ardrossan, Scotland The Ardrossan Coastguard Rescue Team was called in to examine a suspected sea mine that washed up on Scotland's west coast. Police cordoned off the area and sent images of the device to EOD at the Faslane Naval Base for assessment.

The munition was determined to be a practice mine and not dangerous to the public. According to a statement from the coastguard, "Arrangements were made for the object to be recovered by the Royal Navy in due course with Coastguard Incident tape placed around the object to mitigate any future callouts prior to its recovery."

What A Catch - Fishing Trawler Snags Bomb

South Shields, United Kingdom The crew aboard the fishing trawler, Ticino, though they had a nice size catch in their nets based upon the weight but were shocked to find out that the 'big catch' was actually a bomb. The trawler was reportedly fishing 3-miles off of Souter Point when they caught the bomb in the nets.

The boat's Captain radioed the Coastguard to report the unusual find. The Coastguard sent a ship to the area and helped to safely navigate the bomb laden vessel to the Whitley Bay where an EOD team from the Royal Navy was waiting. EOD inspected the bomb and identified as it WWII era British bomb that was likely jettisoned from a bomber returning from a mission.

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Blasts Along Bluffs Surprise Unsuspecting Residents

Sequim, Washington Residents in the area of Dungeness Landing Park were startled by three explosions, followed by smoke billowing above the bluffs. They were unaware that members of the 129th EOD Company from Joint Base Lewis-McChord had been called in to destroy several pieces of ordnance that washed ashore on the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

The ordnance, identified by EOD as marine markers, were reportedly fired during military training operations in the area. The EOD response was the second response by EOD in area over the past week. The other call was also to dispose of munitions that washed ashore.

Diver Brings Mortar Round Ashore On Public Beach

Kihei, Maui, Hawaii EOD safely disposed of a M301A3 81-mm mortar illumination round brought ashore by a civilian recreational diver. The UXO was detonated without incident after it was removed from Sugar Beach in Maui.

Maui police met with the EOD team from Oahu to coordinate the safe removal of the round to the Ukumehame Firing range where it was detonated.

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Beach Area Closed Due To UXO

Essex, United Kingdom Authorities closed Essex Beach due to explosives safety concerns from UXO. The decision, made in consultation with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), was due to a large number of UXO reports (approximately 50) over the past three months. The newly discovered UXO is reportedly washing ashore from the nearby MOD training area due in part to increasing tides and changing weather patterns in the area. The recent UXO finds include WWI ordnance including mortars.

New signage and fencing is being erected to warn beach goers to stay away from the closed areas until the Royal Navy completes a survey of the area which is expected to take several weeks.

Navy EOD Detonate Torpedo Found by Divers

Thatcher Island, Massachusetts Navy EOD technicians safely identified and disposed of a suspected torpedo in waters just off the coast of Thatcher Island, Mass. EOD Mobile Unit (EODMU) 12, Det. Newport was called in after two divers reported the find to the US Coast Guard (USGC).

The ordnance was detonated in place, despite the fact that marine growth on the suspected torpedo precluded positive identification. The USCG requested that the munition be removed to avoid the risk to future recreational divers who could encounter it and also to eliminate the risk of encounter with fishing nets.

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Large Cache of WWII UXO Found off Mumbai Coast

Mumbai, India In one of the country's largest recoveries of ammunition in history, hundreds of WWII era explosives were discovered by the Indian Naval Force on the coast of Mumbai. According to reports, approximately 90 unexploded bomb shells, missiles, and live bullets were found incidentally as the Navy was working on widening and deepening the channels of Mumbai Harbor.

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