Group of anglers net a Navy torpedo off the Costa Blanca in Spain

Spain's Guardia Civil police force has opened an investigation after a group of anglers discovered a Spanish Navy torpedo around four nautical miles off the coast of the island of Tabarca in Alicante on the Costa Blanca. The underwater ranged weapon possibly went astray during practice manoeuvres on 8 October in the waters off Cartagena.

Investigations into the discovery are now focused on finding out the origin and how the projectile reached the location where it was discovered. However, it can be determined, as can be seen in the images posted on social media by the anglers, that it is a Mark 46 torpedo, manufactured in the United States.

The anglers who found the device immediately alerted maritime authorities and Guardia Civil, but not before tying it up with a long rope and towing it to a safe place. Guardia Civil then picked it up and took it back to police headquarters where it is being examined.

The anglers reportedly secured the projectile to avoiding any danger if it was to collide with another vessel, since the distance to the coast was just four miles and there are a large number of jet skis in the area.

In a video posted on his social media, angler Pedro Pertegal pointed out how the Guardia Civil did not believe what they were seeing at first, to the point they had to first send them a photo of the torpedo before they sent out officers.

The Guardia Civil said there is no active notification for a missing torpedo and confirmed it was a Mark 46, from the US Navy United States, which is of a type of weapon often used by Spanish Navy vessels and helicopters. However, the force considers that it could be unarmed projectile used in practice missions.