A blasting device was safely destroyed by law enforcement after was discovered at a Victoria-area beach on Saturday.
The Oak Bay Police Department says at around 1:20 p.m. on April 10, officers responded to a section of beach in Gonzales Bay after receiving reports that an explosive device had washed ashore, about 100 metres from the end of Repulse Street.
The object, police say, turned out to be a Nxburst cartridge — a non-detonating blasting device that is often used to break up rock and concrete — that appeared to have been in the water for a while before washing up on the beach.
“The markings on the device were quite faded and at this time police do not know where the device came from or how it ended up in the ocean,” the department said in a press release issued Sunday morning.
However, to be safe, the Oak Bay PD contacted members from the Victoria Police Department’s Explosive Disposal, who attended the scene and safely removed the device using a robot.
Oak Bay PD says Nxburst devices are designed as a “safe alternative” to traditional explosives and are often used in a wide range of construction, demolition, mining, and quarrying environments.
The device was subsequently destroyed at a safe location, according to the Oak Bay PD.
Police destroyed this device, which turned out to be a Nxburst cartridge, after it washed up on a beach in Oak Bay. (Oak Bay Police Department
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