Navy training mine washes ashore on Miami Beach

A portion of Miami Beach was evacuated on Monday following the discovery of a red and white cylinder that turned out to be a training mine belonging to the US Navy.

Police cordoned off the area surrounding the 6-foot by 2-foot mine, which a Miami Fire Rescue spokesman said appeared to be live but not as explosive as a regular mine, the Associated Press reported. It was discovered Monday morning by a beachgoer walking a vicinity of the famous beach that's populated with condominiums.

Navy officials said the device had been attached to the sea floor between the Bahamas and Miami when it inexplicably came loose and floated to the surface, television station WSVN reported. It was eventually loaded on a truck and taken away, and is expected to be take out to sea and reattached to the ocean floor for use in future drills by divers. ®