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CostaBlancaPeople 15th October - 21st October 2024
15TH OCTOBER - 21ST OCTOBER 2024 - EDITION 1065
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Local fishermen catch Navy torpedo
The Civil Guard is investigating the sighting of a Spanish Navy torpedo floating near the island of Tabarca over the weekend. A group of fishermen from the Alicante coast spotted the massive object while fishing about four miles from the shore. The discovery, which caused concern and curiosity in equal measure, was immediately reported to
the local authorities. “We saw it passing behind us, floating on the sea current and we were surprised and wondering if what we were seeing was a buoy,” said Pedro Pertegal, one of the fishermen. “As it passed very close to us , we went to look out of curiosity and my companion, who has been in the army for six or seven years, confirmed to us that it
was a torpedo.” The fishermen acted quickly and contacted Maritime Rescue and the Civil Guard. However, they say that it took the officers around an hour and a half to arrive at the scene to take charge of the object. Given the delay and the imminent danger that the torpedo could collide with a boat, mainly due to its proximity to the coast of Tabarca and the movement of jet skis in the area, the fishermen decided to hook it and tow it to the shore to avoid possible tragedies. Pedro Pertegal later recounted the experience through his TikTok account, commenting that initially the authorities did not believe what was happening until they were sent a photo of the device. From that moment on, the Civil Guard communicated by radio and headed towards the exact
coordinates to be able to take charge. “We removed it immediately because we sailed at dawn and we know how dangerous it can be if a boat travelling at high speed collides with it,” says Pertegal, who photographed and recorded the towing process so that he could report it to the Civil Guard. The Guardia Civil confirmed that it had not received any prior notification of the loss of the torpedo. Among other issues, it has been confirmed that the device identified is a Mark 46 torpedo of the United States Navy, an antisubmarine model used by frigates of the Santa María and Álvaro Bazán classes, as well as by the SH60 Seahawk
helicopters of the Spanish Navy. A torpedo that was in open waters and represented a serious risk to navigation in the area. The Guardia Civil is currently carrying out an investigation to determine how the torpedo came to be floating in the area. At the moment, all possibilities are open, including the theory that it could be a practice torpedo , since, if loaded, it would have yellow stripes and those found on the device were orange, indicating that it is unarmed.