Australia's radioactive capsule en route to storage as investigation begins

A view shows the area where a radioactive capsule was found, near Newman, Australia, February 1, 2023. Western Australian Department Of Fire And Emergency Services/Handout via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A lost radioactive capsule found after a search along a 1,400 km stretch of the arid Western Australian outback is due to arrive in Perth on Thursday evening as investigators work on piecing together just how it fell from a truck.

The capsule - 6mm in diameter and 8 mm long or about the size of a tic-tac sweet - was found in the state's remote northwest on Wednesday. The week-long search retracing the truck's journey involved 100 people from at least five government agencies using specialised radiation detection equipment.