LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — A section of beach near Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida, was closed to the public for several hours Sunday morning after a naval mine, roughly 4 feet in diameter, washed ashore.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office closed off the area to the public after a deputy on patrol found the “possible explosive training device” near a beach portal adjacent to the Plunge Beach Hotel at around 2:30 a.m., the Sun Sentinel reported.
#BREAKING — Apparent naval mine has washed ashore in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. BSO on scene with bomb squad on the way to check the device out. pic.twitter.com/7oATCTqvjs
— Parker Branton (@ParkerBranton) April 4, 2021
Naval mines are explosive devices typically used to damage surface ships or submarines.
The word “INERT” was painted on the mine’s side, but it remained unclear if the device had previously been used for military training or might have been live at one point, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The sheriff’s office bomb squad investigated the initial call, and the U.S. Air Force took possession of the device at around 10:45 a.m. to investigate the device further, WPLG reported.
Cox Media Group
