2nd unearthed WW II bomb in Hong Kong triggers evacuation

The discovery of a 450 kg bomb from the World War II in Hong Kong has triggered evacuation of over 4,000 people, even as experts were trying to deactivate it on Thursday.

The bomb, the second found in the same area in four days, was discovered late Wednesday at an under construction site in the commercial and financial district of Wanchai, Efe news reported.

The find led to a deployment of police, who ordered the evacuation from buildings.

Shops, hotels, schools and offices were closed. Traffic, including maritime transport services, was stopped during part of the day and throughout Wednesday night.

Early on Thursday the bomb disposal teams were still working in the area to fully unearth the unexploded ordnance.

The bomb was found embedded in the ground 10 metres away from where another bomb of the same model that was discovered on January 27, which also prompted an evacuation until it was successfully defused.

Both explosives were dropped by the US military during World War II.

The appearance of explosives, such as bombs or unexploded grenades, is not unusual in Hong Kong, as the city was the scene of fighting between the Japanese army, which took over the territory for almost four years, and British and American allied forces between 1941 and 1945.

In 2014, the police deactivated a WWII bomb that weighed almost a ton, the largest ever found in the city so far.

--IANS

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