Police and military bomb disposal experts were called to Fort Rodd Hill on Sunday (Feb. 5) after a hiker found an unexploded mortar bomb.
The West Shore RCMP said in an email that they received a call from the hiker reporting they had found the bomb on private property near the Fort Rodd Hill Visitor Centre, prompting police to secure the area and contact the military police stationed at CFB Esquimalt.
Navy Lt. Pamela Hogan told Black Press Media that call came in around 10:30 a.m., and the Fleet Dive Unit’s Navy Bomb Disposal Team was dispatched, arriving on scene around noon.
The team identified the bomb as an M49A2 60-millimetre high explosive mortar bomb, which was primarily used by the U.S. in the Second World War, Korean War and Vietnam War.
“Upon inspecting the round, the team determined the most appropriate means of disposal was to conduct a controlled explosion of the round using C4,” said Hogan.
The RCMP said the hiker was told not to return to the area where they found the bomb as they had passed several private property and no trespassing signs to get there. No charges are being pursued at this time.
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