U.S. military jettisons bombs near Australia"s Great Barrier Reef

• U.S. aircraft dropped four unarmed bombs not far from the Great Barrier Reef


• Two bombs had been disarmed; the other two were inert


• The Navy said the plans were running out of fuel and had to drop the weight


• The reefs contain 400 types of coral and endangered animal species

(CNN) — U.S. Navy aircraft jettisoned four bombs not far from the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast Sunday.

The two planes had to abandon the bombs in the national park containing the natural wonder because they were running out of fuel, and the bombs were weighing the planes down, the Navy said in a statement.

Two of the projectiles were explosive bombs that were disarmed before they were dropped. They did not explode, the Navy said.

The other two were inert, or non-explosive bombs, the Navy said.

The pilots chose an area away from the reefs, which contain 400 types of coral. The area was also deep enough to prevent passing ships from running into the bombs, the Navy said.

The reef is home to 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 kinds of mollusks, according to the United Nations’ World Heritage Convention.

It is also a habitat for animals threatened by extinction and is protected as a World Heritage Site.

CNN’s Zarifmo Aslamshoyeva contributed to this report.

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U.S. military jettisons bombs near Australia"s Great Barrier Reef