The small radioactive capsule that fell off a truck while being transported 1400km in Western Australia has been resurfaced.

The search teams had discovered the capsule about 50 kilometers south of the town of Newman, said the regional disaster protection minister, Stephen Dawson, with the local press.

Till Fähnders

Political correspondent for Southeast Asia.

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The capsule measures just six by eight millimeters, making it smaller than a small coin.

"I want to emphasize that this is an exceptional result," Dawson said at a news conference.

"The search parties literally found a needle in a haystack."

The capsule belonged to the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto.

The search involved representatives from the Fire Service and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization.

Fire service representative Darren Klemm said hundreds of kilometers in the suburbs and in the Australian outback were searched.

The capsule was about two meters from the roadside on the Great Northern Highway.

A special device on a vehicle measured radioactivity at the site at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour.

The team then continued to search with portable measuring devices and found the capsule.

The Australian military is in the process of uniquely identifying the capsule using its serial number, Klemm said.

The site was cordoned off within a radius of 20 meters.

The plan was to put the capsule in a lead container to prevent radiation and take it to Newman overnight.

The health authorities announced a detailed investigation, which could lead to criminal prosecution.

Apparently those responsible don't have much to fear.

According to reports in the Australian press, violators of safety regulations when transporting radioactive material in the state of Western Australia are fined as little as AUD 1,000 (EUR 650).

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had previously criticized the low penalty for losing the capsule.

"She shouldn't have been lost, that's the first thing.

And secondly yes, of course that number is ridiculously small,” Albanese said.

The silver container with radioactive caesium-137 was lost on the way from a mine in the Pilbara mining region to a suburb of the metropolis Perth between January 11 and 16.

However, the loss was not noticed until days later, when the load was taken from the transporter.

Authorities believe a container in which the capsule was stowed fell apart due to vibration.

The capsule then slipped through a bolt hole and fell off the loading area.

The population was asked to keep a distance of at least five meters.

The health authority warned that contact with the capsule could be dangerous, leading to skin irritation, burns and even cancer.