Interested to know how yesterday’s antique World War II bomb was detonated with little damage? The Singapore army gave an inside look into its operation, which involved setting up a trench and dozens of sandbags.
See the bomb squad at work in a 40-second clip — with epic soundtrack to boot — from start to explosive finale in detonating a bomb that had sat unexploded for about eight decades until it was found during excavation work at the site of an upcoming condominium building.
The bomb was successfully disposed of at about 4:35 pm, police had said in an update.
WWII bomb at former Zouk nightclub forces evacuation of condos, hotel
“Involving around 40 SAF personnel, the disposal was done in a controlled manner to mitigate any potential effects of the blast and disruption to the surroundings,” the video’s caption read.
Nearby condominium residents and guests at the Grand Copthorne Hotel had to be evacuated for the operation. Some witness reports said the ground could be felt shaking, and photos showed smoke rising from the scene.
Disposing of the bomb involved “digging a containment trench” and setting up an “overhead cover with compacted sandbags stacked together” to contain the blast, the post said.
The squad also broke the bomb’s casing open “to burn the main explosives within.”
The clip, posted online by the army late last night, ends with a really quick explosion.
Many praised the army for their getting rid of the bomb safely, while others thought the operation seemed “anti-climactic” for all the hype that it had garnered online.
“The complete anti-climax ending showed that the soldiers did a great job … If the 50kg bomb had a mind of its own it would have felt so insulted to go out in such a small blast,” one said in the comments.
Others made light of the fact the ordnance was found under former nightclub Zouk that many attended in its 30 years.
“Huh 50kg?!?! Sure or not? More like 5kg; Or maybe just maybe it was my old lighter I left at zouk while I was clubbing those days. Jokes aside still a job well done,” wrote a Manuel John.
And the overly dramatic score earned a few rotten tomatoes from the army of armchair critics out there.
“The soundtrack louder than the explosion,” one wrote.
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WWII bomb at former Zouk nightclub forces evacuation of condos, hotel
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