Authorities in Hong Kong defused a 1,000-pound US-made World War II bomb over the weekend, prompting the evacuation of some 6,000 residents from around 1,900 households in the Quarry Bay area.
Construction workers discovered the nearly five-foot-long explosive device at a building site on Friday. A police bomb disposal unit completed the operation by late Saturday morning.
“We have confirmed this object to be a bomb dating back to World War II,” said senior police official Andy Chan Tin-chu. He noted “exceptionally high risks associated with its disposal” and said this necessitated the evacuation.
The operation concluded at approximately 11:30 a.m. Saturday. No injuries were reported.
Police said unexploded munitions from the Second World War are occasionally found in Hong Kong and other locations worldwide. The city was under Japanese occupation during the war and was subjected to Allied bombing raids, including by American forces.
World War II-era bombs found recently
In recent months, similar discoveries have been reported across Europe and Asia. Last week an unexploded bomb was found in central Berlin causing mass evacuations. Earlier this month, a 500-pound bomb was unearthed at a construction site in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. In August, areas of Dresden, Germany, were evacuated after another unexploded device was located. In June, authorities in Cologne moved more than 20,000 people after three US-made bombs were found.
Other incidents were reported this year in Paris, parts of northern England, and at a Japanese airport in October.
Hong Kong police said there is no ongoing threat following the successful disposal of the bomb in Quarry Bay.