Bombs dropped on reef off Qld found

Four bombs dropped on the Great Barrier Reef during a military exercise in central Queensland have been found.

Four bombs dropped on the Great Barrier reef during a botched military exercise have been found.

The Australian and US navies are now working to retrieve the ordnance.

Two of the bombs did not contain explosives and the other two were without their fusing mechanisms.

Royal Australian Navy minehunter HMAS Gascoyne found the bombs on Friday.

US warplanes were forced to drop the bombs after they ran dangerously low on fuel during a problem-plagued training exercise in central Queensland last month.

The planes were unable to drop the ordnance where they had intended because civilian vessels had wandered into the pre-approved drop zone.

Instead they were let go in about 50 to 60 metres of water inside the boundaries of the Great Barrier Reef marine park.

Joint Operations Chief Lieutenant General Ash Power says the retrieval will depend on weather conditions and environmental considerations.

"At no stage did the jettisoned ordnance pose a threat to the safety of people or the Great Barrier Reef," Lt-Gen Power said in a statement.

The bombs were dropped during a training activity prior to Exercise Talisman Sabre, a joint war games involving US and Australian troops.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world