Desperate battle to defuse collar bomb hung round neck of girl, 18, 'being held to ransom' at multi-million pound mansion

OMG - what has the world come to? I only thought this happened in movies.

I hope that the girl is ok

squad officers have entered a house in a wealthy suburb of Sydney where a terrified teenage girl is reported to have had an explosive device strapped to her body by a balaclava-clad intruder.
Police have refused to reveal fine details but confirmed a delicate operation was taking place in a house in the suburb of Mosman where many wealthy families - bankers, stockbrokers, sports personalities and company directors - live.

A senior police officer described the device as an unusual 'collar bomb', which has never been seen before in Australia, but an exact description has yet to be officially given.
There was speculation that the intruder entered the house, attached the explosives to the girl and left a ransom note, but there was no official confirmation of this as the delicate operation to establish just how dangerous the device was continued into the evening in Australia.

It is understood the teenager, who recently celebrated her 18th birthday, is part of one of Sydney's wealthiest families. She was said to be 'absolutely terrified' as bomb squad officers attempted to establish the volatility of the device.

Local reports said police believed a ransom note has been attached to the girl's neck, but bomb experts were unable to get close enough to read its contents until they had decided if it was safe to approach the package.
Burrawong Avenue, Mosman, where the drama is being played out, is home to Australian racing identity Gai Waterhouse and ex-Wallaby ruby players Phil Kearns and John Eales.
The young woman's parents, who have not been identified, were outside the house comforting one another.
Police have not given any official details about the intruder, but officers confirmed that a stranger wearing a balaclava had entered the house and left a 'package' with her.
Assessing how dangerous it is, said assistant commissioner Mark Murdoch, 'demands a high level of skill and must be meticulous'.

He added that the girl was still in the house 'with a couple of our bomb technicians.'
The high drama, which has stunned residents living in the leafy suburb where the value of many of the homes run into millions of dollars, began when the girl, who was home alone when the man entered, phoned police at about 2.30pm.

Such is the concern about the package that police have cordoned off the house and closed a number of nearby streets. Some houses nearby have also been evacuated.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2021874/Teenage-girl-mansion-Aus...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2021874/Teenage-girl-mansion-Aus...