An unknown object resembling a torpedo was found in the waters off Gili Trawangan. The discovery sparked widespread discussion on social media, where users are debating what the object might be for.
North Lombok Police Chief Lieutenant Colonel Agus Purwanta said a local resident, Arianto, spotted the object while fishing about 16 kilometres north of Gili Trawangan.
"Because the item looked suspicious, it was towed and brought ashore," Agus said.
The object is painted black and is fairly large: around 4 metres long and 70 centimetres in diameter.
Its cylindrical shape resembles a torpedo, but based on its appearance it looks more like equipment used for underwater monitoring or marine surveys.
Police also found the marking "CSIC" on the casing, along with Chinese writing on the lower part.
CSIC stands for China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. It is one of the world's largest state-owned shipbuilding groups, specialising in the construction of warships, submarines and high-tech maritime equipment for surveillance, research or combat diver training.
Reports say that after it was towed ashore, the object was checked using detectors.
The results showed there was no immediate threat: no explosives or radioactive substances were found inside the device.
"As soon as we received the report, we began securing the area and inspecting the scene together with the Gegana bomb squad from the police mobile brigade. Preliminary results confirmed that the object is free of hazardous components," Agus said.
However, police are continuing to determine the origin and purpose of the device. For now, it has been handed over to the Mataram naval base (Lanal).
Sources: detik
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