Mystery as white hand grenades wash up on US beach

Graig Graziosi
·2 min read
An M116A1 simulator hand grenade found on a beach in Oregon. The devices reproduce the flash and concussion of a hand grenade but are safe enough to be used in training by police and the military (Newport Police Department)
An M116A1 simulator hand grenade found on a beach in Oregon. The devices reproduce the flash and concussion of a hand grenade but are safe enough to be used in training by police and the military (Newport Police Department)

Beachgoers combing the coast in Oregon found more than shells and crabs hiding in the sand at a beach near Newport — they found hand grenades.

Police were dispatched to a beach in Newport on Tuesday after receiving numerous reports from beach walkers describing white cylinders bearing labels identifying them as hand grenade simulators. Three cylinders were found on the shore between Yaquina Bay State Park and Agate beach.

The state police's bomb squad was called to the scene, CNN reported. The team removed the cylinders.

The label states that the device is a "simulator hand grenade" M116A, which is explosive, but not built as a death-dealing device. Instead, the M116A is used to simulate the flash and sound of a grenade for training purposes without putting students at risk.

Police in Newport have warned the public to leave the cylinders undisturbed if they find them and to report the location to law enforcement. Officials have advised the public not to handle the devices, as they are still explosives and can cause harm if mishandled.

It is unclear where the grenades originated and how they wound up scattered in the ocean.

The military trains in US coastal waters, and occasionally reminders of that fact wash ashore. Last year beach combers in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Florida were surprised to find a simulator underwater mine had been brought in with the tides.

The mine resembled a large sphere with several instruments jutting from its top. The word "inert" was printed on its side to indicate it was a training device and not an armed explosive, CNN reported at the time.

The US Air Force and the Broward County Sheriff's Office worked together to recover and remove the device.

Approximately a month before that incident another Florida beach was littered with a piece of military equipment when a US Air Force training drone washed onto the shore.

The orange drone resembled a missile. The USAF said the drone was used by pilots to train in real-world scenarios, according to WPEC.