MINEFIELDS IN ISLANDS
Examination Bv Naval Party “The Press'" Special Service WELLINGTON, Jan. 7. War-time minefields laid in the reef passages in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, about 1500 miles north of New Zealand, will be examined by a Naval diving party next year. If possible the mines will be destroyed. The United States Navy laid 280 mines in eight fields around Funafuti and Bukitaritari. One group was laid in 1943, the other in 1944. It is unlikely that any of the mines will still be effective, and marine growth may make them difficult to locate. The first task of the diving party will be to find the mines and to report on their condition. If it is considered safe, destruction will then begin with the intention of clearing as many mines as possible in the time available. Plans are being made for the diving party to embark in the survey ship H.M.N.Z.S Lachlan in July. The Lachlan will take the divers to the group and act as their base for the operation, returning to Auckland in September.
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Press, Volume CI, Issue 29715, 8 January 1962, Page 15
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178MINEFIELDS IN ISLANDS Press, Volume CI, Issue 29715, 8 January 1962, Page 15
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