An urgent police operation has been triggered at a popular Gold Coast beach after a ‘suspicious device’ was found on the shoreline.
Queensland Police have established a 100-metre exclusion zone around the item, which was discovered at The Spit in Main Beach on Thursday morning.
Beachgoers reported to local radio station Hot Tomato that the cylinder-shaped object had washed up about 5.45am.
Specialist police are examining the item, which was described as resembling an explosive.
A Queensland Police Service spokesman told the Gold Coast Bulletin the object could be a ‘torpedo’.
‘We’re not sure whether it’s live or not,’ he said.
The spokesman confirmed the Australian Defence Force was notified of the discovery.
Sunrise reporter Georgia Costi claimed members of the bomb squad attended the scene.
The device is understood to have washed up about 5.45am on Thursday
‘This is an extremely strange set of circumstances, you definitely don’t see it every day here on the Gold Coast,’ she said.
‘All of this started about 5.45am … people walking along this very popular spot noticed what appears to be either a torpedo or a missile sitting on the sand.’
Costi shared theories the apparent explosive could have been lost during military exercises.
‘It’s not uncommon to see military exercises off the Queensland coast. That’s one potential theory about how it got here,’ she said.
‘If it turns out to be a military item, they will have to call in the Australian Defence Force who normally remove these sorts of things.’
The item was found about 300m south of the dredging pier at The Spit.
‘Police ask members of the public to avoid the area,’ Queensland Police said in a statement.
More to come.
