Mysterious mine floating in Puget Sound detonated
U.S. Coast Guard drags mine to safe area in Puget Sound to detonate after evacuation nearby marina, homes and businesses.
Bomb technicians from the Navy detonated a "dated military mine" on Tuesday that was found floating for hours in Washington's Puget Sound between Brownsville Marina and Bainbridge Island.
The Navy said in a statement the object was reported about 2 p.m., and an inspection showed the mine had decades of marine growth on it. Officials said they detonated the mine at 8:04 p.m.
"The detonation did not create a secondary explosion, which indicated the device was inert," the Navy said in a statement. "Its origin remains undetermined. The Navy will continue to investigate."
Video from KIRO-TV shows the moment the bomb was detonated.
The discovery of the device prompted the Coast Guard to set up a 1,500-yard safety zone before the Navy inspected the device and towed it out to a safe area for detonation. The Coast Guard said the ordnance was originally located by a Washington State Department of Natural Resources crew.
A pair of U.S. Navy divers attach a rope to a "reported unexploded ordnance" drifting in the water between Brownsville Marina and Bainbridge Island, off Brownsville, Wash., Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. (Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun via AP)
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Authorities also asked residents along the waterfront to stay inside and away from beaches as a precaution.
A U.S. Coast Guard boat keeps watch over a "reported unexploded ordnance" drifting in the water between Brownsville Marina and Bainbridge Island, off Brownsville, Wash., Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. (Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun via AP)
"It's just an unusual situation, not many times you see a World War II mine floating around Brownsville Bay," one resident told Q13 News as he checked out the situation.
Brownsville is located a few miles south of Naval Base Kitsap — Keyport's torpedo testing range.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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