Thousands of people evacuated in Hong Kong after the discovery of an unexploded bomb from World War II (5 photos)

Thousands of people in Hong Kong were evacuated due to a World War II-era bomb. Construction workers found an unexploded device weighing 453 kilograms and measuring 1.5 meters in length in the Quarry Bay business district.





Andy Chan Tin-Chu, a police spokesman, told reporters: "We have confirmed that this object is a World War II-era bomb."

About 6,000 people from nearly 2,000 homes have been issued urgent evacuation orders due to the "extremely high risk" associated with defusing the ordnance.







Officer Suryanto Chin-Chiu said his team neutralized the explosive device. They made a 30-centimeter-diameter hole in it and then incinerated the contents.

He noted: "The bomb was designed for one purpose—to cause mass destruction. It was manufactured in such a way that it would remain operational."



The Japanese army invaded Hong Kong on December 8, 1941. The occupation lasted until 1945.

Historian Kwong Chi-man has suggested that the defused bomb was likely one of six dropped by the US Air Force on the Taikoo shipyard in April 1945.

According to him, up to 20% of bombs fail to explode. Therefore, there may be many more unexploded ordnance in the city.



In February 2020, approximately 300 people—hotel guests and local residents—were forced to flee their homes in the Happy Valley area. The discovery of a 454-kilogram American munition at a construction site was the cause.

In 2017, another US Air Force bomb forced the evacuation of 1,300 residents of the Wan Chai district.