An unexploded World War II-era aerial bomb has been discovered wrapped around a ghost net on the seabed in Cirkewwa marine park.
The bomb was discovered on Wednesday morning by divers who were attempting to remove the 80-metre long abandoned net around 200 metres off the coast.
Mark Galea Pace, founder of NGO Coast Is Clear, said that due to the depth – around 37 metres – and the fact that the site is directly beneath the Gozo Channel ferry route, the operation to remove the net was already a complex one that had required a lot of planning.
“We had a limited amount of time to work. We had been tugging at the net for around 10 minutes before we noticed the bomb, so we were shocked to see it. You never know what could have set it off,” Galea Pace told Times of Malta.
The bomb was discovered wrapped in a ghost net at a depth of around 37 metres. Photo: Mark Galea Pace
He said the divers had reported the bomb to the AFM, and would be coordinating with the army to pinpoint its exact location.
Galea Pace said that while he had previously found World War II-era fighter plane bullets during dives off the coast of Marsaxlokk, this was the first time he had come across a bomb.
It is currently unclear which country the bomb, which Galea Pace said was around 1.5 metres long, originated from. It is similar in appearance to both German and British-made aerial bombs from the time.
From left to right: divers Piero Di Pilato, Raniero Borg, Mark Galea Pace and Anna Degiorgio.
The clean-up was carried out by Coast Is Clear in collaboration with diver Raniero Borg. The NGO regularly removes plastics, ghost fishing nets, tyres, and heavy debris from the sea and land, alongside planting trees to support local biodiversity.