Police called to Aussie beach after schoolgirl's deadly find: 'Move away'
Residents flocked to the beach near Ulladulla, NSW to watch defence force personnel explode the 'dangerous' cylinder.
A schoolgirl collecting shells at a beach with her stepfather this week made an alarming discovery, prompting police and Australian Defence Force personnel to rush to the scene.
Local man Bradley Tangye was at Bradys Beach, north of Ulladulla harbour in NSW, on Tuesday morning enjoying a walk before school when the child reportedly picked up an explosive military marker.
Emergency services were called to the beach at around 8.30am after a call from Tangye. Officers attached to the South Coast Police District "set up an exclusion zone", NSW Police confirmed to Yahoo News Australia.
"Australian Defence Force personnel were brought in to safely detonate it," a spokesperson confirmed. It's not known how the ordnance ended up on the beach.
Speaking to ABC News about the discovery, the Ulladulla man said he didn't know what it was at first but grew concerned after reading the word "flammable" written on it. Tangye said the unexploded ordnance was "a cylinder and sort of green".
"It had 'dangerous, may contain phosphorus' on the label as well," he explained. "But as soon as I saw flammable written on it, I went, 'Yep — kids, move away'".
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Beach closed off while device detonated
Police reportedly arrived within minutes of the phone call, with defence personnel arriving shortly after. The beach was swiftly closed off and people were warned to stay away on social media. Despite this dozens reportedly gathered to watch the device be detonated.
A photo shared by ABC, provided by a resident, shows two people dressed in military attire standing on the beach with a plume of smoke in front of them. A video shows the brief explosion on the sand after the device's detonation.
On its website, the Department of Defence warns people not to touch or disturb suspected unexploded ordnance, because "very little handling may be needed to make the item of ammunition function". Yahoo News Australia has contacted Defence for comment.
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