Unexploded ordnance detonated near Passage Key

MANATEE -- An unexploded ordnance found in 2 feet of water off Passage Key early Sunday was detonated Sunday night where it was found.

Officials with U.S. Fish and Wildlife discovered the unexploded ordnance earlier Sunday. Passage Key is a sand bar north of Anna Maria Island's Bean Pointand is uninhabited.

Several agencies worked together to formulate a plan to detonate the ordnance, said Dave Bristow, a Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Initially, Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission officers responded to the request from U.S. Fish and Wildlife by contacting the Marine Unit from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Bristow said.

The call was then referred to a multi-agency Underwater Bomb Team, which responded with a team of underwater bomb technicians, Bristow said.

The team decided to detonate the ordnance in the location where it was discovered, Bristow said.

It was not clear on Sunday whether or not the bomb was World War II vintage.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Unexploded ordnance detonated near Passage Key ."