VIENNA, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- An Austrian police officer monitoring motorists was covered in manure by an explosive booby trap likely meant to target traffic cops, police said.

Police spokesman Rainer Dionisio said Constable Gunther Maier, 58, triggered a fishing line at the side of the Moelltal state highway and the line set off explosives in a nearby plastic bucket filled with manure.


Dionisio said Maier was about 6.5 feet away from the bucket when it detonated. He said the officer was covered with manure, but not injured.

The spokesman said the trap was likely designed to target police, as the spot where Maier was watching traffic is often used by officers using radar guns to monitor the speed of motorists.

Dionisio said police are investigating the incident and the culprit could face criminal charges.

"What could have happened if the officer had been nearer the explosives, or if a child had set it off? It doesn't bear thinking about," he said.