Police have successfully removed a wartime bomb discovered at a construction site in the heart of Hong Kong yesterday. Phew!
According to RTHK, the Star Ferry between Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai resumed service at around 11:15am today after the bomb was removed from Harbour Road in Wan Chai.
Police had to seal off the area, stores had to be shuttered, ferry and bus services were suspended, and more than 4,000 people were evacuated from the Wan Chai district after the bomb was discovered at the construction site.
It was the second wartime bomb found at the construction site within a week, the first one was found on Saturday. The operation to remove the bomb took at least 24 hours.
Bomb disposal officer Alick McWhirter confirmed to reporters on the site this afternoon that both bombs were of the same American-made model that had been dropped on Hong Kong during the Second World War, but added that “this was a particularly difficult and dangerous operation”.
“Because of the rain yesterday the working conditions were not good, because of the location it was extremely difficult to access it.”
He also added that this particular bomb was dangerous because its fuse mechanism was severely damaged and due to its position in the mud, but added that they were quicker and more prepared this time.
When asked by reporters if he anticipates that there will be a third similar bomb at the construction site, McWhirter responded: “I never anticipate, I just wait to see what happens”.
Unexploded wartime bombs or grenades are frequently found by hikers or construction workers in Hong Kong, which was the scene of fierce fighting between Japanese and British allied forces in 1941 and was also bombed from the air during sortees.
In 2014 police defused a wartime bomb weighing nearly one ton, the largest yet found in the city.
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