5 Jun 2014

US warns Marshalls over missile test

1:36 pm on 5 June 2014

The United States Army has warned Marshall Islands residents about a missile test from Kwajalein Atoll later this month.

The army says an interceptor missile is scheduled to be launched from Meck Island in Kwajalein on June the 23rd and it is warning people to stay away from certain areas northeast of Kwajalein.

The Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein is one of the U.S. military's primary missile defense test sites.

The Army says the populated atolls of Utrik, Ailuk, and Likiep and the island of Mejit are in what it describes as an Ocean Caution Area.

About 1,600 people live in the area and the army has urged people not to travel between the atolls from June the 23rd to June the 25th as back up tests are scheduled.

The army says the risk to people on the atolls is small but it has urged them to avoid being on two uninhabited islands on the southeastern end of Likiep Atoll during the test period.

It has also warned planes and ships to keep clear.

The army has also warned anyone observing mission debris to stay at least 45 metres away and report it.