N-bomb off Georgia coast

WASHINGTON, AUG 16. A nuclear bomb 100 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima, is lying 10 km off the east coast of America. Pentagon has rejected demands for its recovery, saying it is too dangerous to be touched now, a newspaper report said here today.

The 3,450 kg hydrogen bomb has been lying off the coast of Georgia since February 5, 1958 when it was jettisoned from a B-47 Stratojet bomber after the plane was struck by a fighter jet during a training exercise at 36,000 ft. One of the bomber's wings was damaged and an engine dislodged. The Pilot, Major Howard Richardson, was ordered to drop the bomb before attempting to land, The Australian reported.

The pilot did so near Tybee Island, close to the mouth of Savannah river. Despite a 10-week search, the bomb was never found, it said.

- PTI

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