Thousands evacuated after second WWII bomb found in Hong Kong in a week

  02 February 2018    Read: 1708
Thousands evacuated after second WWII bomb found in Hong Kong in a week
A second World War II bomb has been found in the Chinese city that witnessed fierce fights between Japanese and British allied forces in a week.

It took Hong Kong's explosive disposal unit 24 hours to defuse a World War II-era bomb discovered in a "dangerous condition" at a construction site in the busy Wan Chai district.

According to police, the whole neighbourhood of Wan Chai was put on lockdown and about 4,000 people were evacuated on Thursday after a second wartime bomb in a week was found at a construction site.

The bomb disposal operation turned out to be difficult and dangerous, as the team "couldn't even see" a fuse mechanism, according to officer Alick McWhirter. In addition, it was raining during the defusement process.

The 450-kilogram (992-pound) bomb is already the second found in Hong Kong this week. On Sunday, a US wartime bomb was discovered at the building site of a new subway line in the Wan Chai area and safely disarmed by Hong Kong's disposal squad.

Unexploded war-era bombs are often found during construction works in Hong Kong, which witnessed fierce fights between Japanese and British allied forces in 1941.


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