A stretch of Flamenco beach in Snake It was closed from the early hours of this morning so that federal and state authorities can detonate an explosive device found two days ago in the area.
The mayor of the island municipality, Edilberto Romeroexplained to The new day that it is a “large explosive projectile” that is believed to have been brought to the surface by the waves that have been registered in the area this past week.
For his part, the director of the Police Explosives Division, Ismael Cartagenaspecified that it is a “military weapon of regarding 18 to 24 inches long and five to six inches in circumference (width)”. At the moment, there was no estimate of how much this weapon weighs and what its explosion capacity is.
The projectile, according to preliminary information, belongs to part of the bombs used by the United States Navy during the time he was carrying out military exercises in this island municipality.
“It is a type of military weapon similar to projectiles. It is quite big. Our Explosives personnel is there together with the military who are the specialists”, Cartagena stressed.
The weapons were found by a tourist, near the area of the military tank, last Tuesday. The person alerted the authorities to having spotted a strange object that looked like a projectile. Agents from the aforementioned division reviewed the object and, in turn, alerted federal authorities and equipment specialists from the United States Army, who confirmed that it was an explosive.
“This is an explosive that was found two to three days ago, but it is not going to detonate until today, because it was necessary for the federal authorities to arrive. The area remained guarded. Today he arrived and is in the personal area of the Army Corps of Engineers to detonate the device “Romero said by telephone.
“That area is closed and no one can be there. But we advise people not to go to the beach until the work is done. To visitors, please remember that if you see something strange you should always call the authorities. Here in Culebra artifacts have been found in many places and they can continue to be found, so they have to take precautions, ”she added.
Cartagena indicated that the detonation would take place in a controlled manner at approximately 3:00 pm this Saturday.
He anticipated that any visitor or resident on the island will be able to hear a “detonation.” However, she maintained that it will be “controlled” and that it should not be of concern to people on the island municipality.
In the area there are personnel from the Police Explosives Bureau, the Fire Department, the Emergency Management Bureau, Environmental Emergencies personnel, the United States Corps of Engineers, the military, and other first responders to this type of event.
“They haven’t found a bomb in a long time”
Romero recalled that the last time a similar emergency occurred on Flamenco beach was in December 2013when a tourist spotted an artifact, he alerted the authorities and, indeed, it was found to be an explosive.
In that occasion, it was several days before authorities were able to detonate what was described as a 100-pound World War II-era bomb, which was five feet deep, near the shore, on said beach. The bomb was detonated on January 8, 2014 and had to be carried out underwater, given the power that the explosive energy of the device might represent.
“Here there was a job by the Corps of Engineers to clean up explosives, and everything that was there was detonated. That was several years ago. But what the Corps of Engineers has done is that it has posted information on how the bombs appear so that if people see something they don’t touch it, but rather report it,” said the mayor.
“That’s why there are so many signs alerting people to stop, acknowledge, back up and call 9-1-1,” he added.
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