Heavy rain and sleet over east Texas hampered efforts to recover wreckage from the space shuttle Columbia on Thursday, while an amnesty programme for those who looted debris resulted in several pieces being turned in to authorities, local sheriffs said.Hundreds of National Guardsmen, federal agents and state troopers closely searched in and around the tiny Texas town of Bronson, near the Louisiana border, looking for what was believed to be a top-secret device that fell from the shuttle Columbia when the spacecraft broke apart on Saturday.Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerss said since US attorneys announced the amnesty programme for looted shuttle debris a day earlier, 17 people in his county have come forward to turn in 75 pieces of debris, including what appeared to be a piece of fabric sealed in a jar. Two people were arrested on Wednesday and charged with stealing shuttle debris. If convicted they could each face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Attorneys said they are giving others time till Friday evening to turn them in free of penalty.Texas state environment officials said workers had recovered explosive bolts, designed to go off in emergency situations. They have also found a few areas where dangerous chemicals and low-level radioactive material were released. (Reuters)
