The Indonesian warship, KRI Diponegoro.. (ANTARA/Fanny Octavianus)
Navy Colonel JM Sipasulta said that at least 19 live mines were discovered in a 85-hectare-wide area in Tanjung Nusantara waters, Sebuku island, Kotabaru, here Tuesday.
"Through initial detection procedures, we found an underwater mine field with 15 explosion points," he said.
But when some of the explosion points were triggered, more than one blast occurred at a single point. "This means the Japanese in World War II planted two or three mines in each of the spots," he said.
According to Sipasulta, the mines lay buried two to 16 meters under the muddy seabed.
The world war II remnants known as `influence mines` were detonated with a 175-Kg homemade bomb and there were 15 explosions.
The Navy found the old mines in a mine-sweeping operation in support of a Kotabaru district government plan to build a ferry port at Tanjung Nusantara, Sebuku Island in the Gosong Gulf.
H Sjachrani Mataja, a Kotabaru district administraton spokesman, said the mine-sweeping operation was to ensure the safety of the planned 85-hectare ferry port area.
"We hope after the mine-sweeping operation, no more hidden mines will endanger the ferry port activities," he said.(*)
