14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, two US Harrier planes taking part in a training drill dropped four bombs on the Great Barrier Reef.
This natural ecosystem is home to some 1600 species of fish and 30 species of marine mammals, which was why conservationists were outraged to hear that it had been bombed.
The incident happened on Tuesday, and the US Navy was quick to dismiss any rumors that the Great Barrier Reef had in any way been harmed by these bombs.
It said that none of the bombs was armed, hence the fact that no explosion occurred.
Information shared with the public says that the bombs were dropped in these waters in the aftermath of a training exercise that went terribly wrong.
It appears that the pilots entrusted with the bombs were supposed to drop them on the Townshend Island bombing range, Sky News reports.
However, while up in the air, they found that they were unable to do so due to the fact that the area was not free of hazards.
Since they were running out of fuel and returning to land while still carrying the bombs was out of the question, the pilots were left with no choice except drop the bombs in said marine national park.
According to a statement issued by the US Navy this past Saturday, the bombs, whose combined weight was one of 1.8 metric tons (4,000 lbs), landed far away from local coral reefs, in 160-feet-deep (almost 50 meters) waters.
By dropping the bombs in this region, the pilots made sure that the damage caused to the environment was kept down to a minimum.
“It was well away from any sensitive habitat. The impacts on the environment are negligible,” Russell Reichelt, the current chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority wished to stress, as cited by The Telegraph.
It may very well be that the Great Barrier Reef did not sustain any noteworthy damage, yet this does not change the fact that, in the aftermath of this incident, it is difficult to have faith that the US military has what it takes to protect the environment, conservationists believe.
“How can they protect the environment and bomb the reef at the same time? Get real,” environmentalist and anti-war activist Graeme Dunstan argued.
“Have we gone completely mad? Is this how we look after our World Heritage area now? Letting a foreign power drop bombs on it?” Larissa Walters also commented on this incident on behalf of the Green Party.
In the days to come, the US Navy and Marine Corps will thoroughly investigate this incident. They say that, should things go as planned, it will not be long until divers manage to recover the bombs.