Australian Defence Force

A statement issued by the government said “This involves taking picture, drawings and measurements to determine what the munitions is and advise planning and disposal.”

“The UXO has been identified as a U.S World War II 500lb bomb.”

“It is safely contained and not posing an immediate risk to public safety but ADF Warrant Officer Class 2 Brett Hitchins says there’s a lot of precaution surrounding the UXO because of the dangers of it.”

The operation is a joint mission between the governments of Nauru and Australia, carried out by the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the Nauru Police Force (NPF) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

A statement said this is the continuation of the first Operation Render Safe mission undertaken in Nauru in 2020.

Eight UXOs were safely and successfully disposed of at a secure site at Topside on Wednesday.

Three of which have been described by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as dangerous.

A royal commission - Australia's top form of public inquiry - interviewed hundreds of people over eight months.

It found servicemen and women are struggling with bureaucracy and a lack of support after being discharged.

The government has apologised and promised to urgently respond to the report's recommendations.

"It's devastating that Australia has lost more serving and former serving personnel to suicide than it has lost through operations over the last 20 years in Afghanistan and Iraq," Veterans Minister Matt Keogh said.

A Nauru Government release said Sergeant Brett Hitchins and Corporal Beau Kahler of the ADF military unit 20th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron, 6th Engineer Support Regiment, conducted an assessment of some old WWII ordnance discovered around the island.

Sergeant Hitchins said the munitions were found around the surrounding areas of the airstrip and still pose a significant danger to everyone which can be catastrophic.

"We strongly recommend people don't touch it [munitions] but definitely don't move anything."