A practice army torpedo has washed up on a popular beach after it was missing for months after a drill.
Police were called to Main Beach on the Gold Coast after a suspicious object was spotted by a dog walker and surf lifesavers about 5.45am on Thursday.
A 100-metre exclusion zone was put in place while police and the Australian defence force examined the object.
Police confirmed the device was an inert practice torpedo that had been used in a recent army drill off the Queensland coast.
Acting Insp Leon Wort said the ADF had boxed up the device and returned it to its depot.
“It’s been recovered and we’ve got no further concerns for public safety,” he said.
“The ADF will … work out what went wrong and why they couldn’t recover it.”
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Wort thanked the members of the public who alerted police and urged people not to handle suspect devices on the beach.
The Gold Coast beach later reopened.
