Australian teenager escapes bomb threat

An Australian teenager has been rescued from a bomb threat after experts worked through the night to defuse a suspicious device which is reported to have been strapped to her.

After a terrifying ten hours being in the vicinity of the 'elaborate device', 18-year-old schoolgirl Madeleine Pulver is said to have been released safely from an alleged extortion attempt in Mosman, a wealthy suburb of Sydney.

New South Wales’s Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Murdoch said that the device was 'a tough nut to crack', according to The Australian.

Miss Pulver was successfully separated from the device and reunited with her parents shortly after 12.00am Australian time on Thursday.

Murdoch said: "The safety of the young lady was always our first priority, and I am pleased to say we have achieved this. Her parents, in particular, are extremely relieved."

“This outcome is a testament to the skills of NSW Police bomb technicians, who have worked tirelessly in very difficult conditions."

Officers from the Bomb Disposal and Rescue Unit were called to the mansion on Sydney’s north shore on Wednesday at 2.30pm by the woman to reports of a suspicious device.

It has been reported the device may have been strapped to the girl - from one of Sydney’s richest families - by a ‘balaclava-clad’ stranger.

Other reports suggest there was also a ransom note attached to her neck.
An unnamed police officer is quoted in the Australian Daily Telegraph describing the device as a ‘collar bomb’ never been seen before in Australia, but more details about its nature are yet to be confirmed.

During the drama, Murdoch said in a statement that the ‘incident is extremely serious’ and highly sensitive.’

He added: “While the very delicate operation continues at the house with the bomb squad officers, highly-skilled investigators have been working behind the scenes since the incident was first reported.”

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“Given the nature of the incident, I am sure you can all appreciate we need to keep the cards very close to our chest.”

“The 18-year-old woman is being supported by specialist police inside the home and her parents are being kept fully up-to-date.”

Police have also said that they are not treating the incident as self-harm and local residents have been evacuated from the vicinity.