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| AV-8B Harrier II (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES — US fighter jets dropped four unarmed bombs on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in an “emergency jettison” during a training exercise, officials said Sunday, ruling out any risk to the public or environment.
The US 7th Fleet said two Harrier aircraft dropped the ordnance on the iconic reef’s marine park off the Queensland coast on Tuesday.
“The selected emergency jettison area was in a deep channel away from the reef to minimize the possibility of reef damage,” the US 7th Fleet said in a statement.
“It is approximately 50 to 60 meters deep and does not pose a hazard to shipping or navigation.”
An Australian Defence Force spokesman told Australian Associated Press that the bombs posed “minimal risk or threat to the public, the marine environment or civilian shipping transiting the reef area.”
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