AUSTRALIAN BOMB squad officers have managed to safely resolve a situation in which an 18-year-old woman is thought to have been attached to an explosive device for more than nine hours.
Streets surrounding the house in the wealthy suburb of Mosman were closed to traffic and emergency services were called as local media reported that a collar bomb had been strapped to the woman by someone else.
As the incident on Sydneys lower north shore entered its 10th hour last night, Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch said the girl had been released from the device and reunited safely with her parents.
The device was still intact, Mr Murdoch added.
Local media identified the teenager as Madeleine Pulver (18), whose father, William, is the CEO of an international software company. The Australiannewspaper reported Mr Murdoch as saying that Ms Pulver had a "very elaborate and sophisticated" device attached to her body, and she had "disclosed a lot of information to police".
He said the Pulver family was dumbfounded as to why they had been targeted. New South Wales police said the woman called them to the house in Mosman at about 2.30pm Australian time
Mr Murdoch would not comment on reports that the device was a “collar bomb”.
He said there had been some previous interaction between the girl and the person who attached the device. He declined to detail whether any demands had been made by the person.
The Sydney Morning Heraldclaimed that a man wearing a balaclava had entered the house and placed the device on the woman. Neither of these reports could be independently confirmed.
The house is in an exclusive road full of multimillion-dollar properties. Police said defusing the device demanded "a high level of skill and must be meticulous". – ( GuardianService)