HONG KONG (AP) – Thousands of people evacuated from their Hong Kong homes overnight, allowing experts to soften the massive US-made bombs left behind from World War II, discovered at a construction site.
Police said the bomb was 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) long and weighed about 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms). It was discovered by construction workers in Quarry Bay, a bustling residential and business district on the west of Hong Kong Island.
“We have confirmed that this object is a bomb that dates back to World War II,” police officer Andy Chang Ting Chu told reporters prior to the operation. He said that “the very high risk associated with that disposal” led to around 1,900 households, including 6,000, being “urged to evacuate quickly.”
The surgery to disable the bomb began late Friday and lasted until around 11:30am on Saturday. No one was injured in the surgery.
Bombs left behind from World War II are sometimes found in Hong Kong.
The city was occupied by the Japanese troops during the war and became a hub for Japanese troops and transport. The US, along with other alliance forces, targeted Hong Kong in air raids to disrupt Japan’s supply lines and infrastructure.
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AP Senior VideoJournalist Raf Wober contributed to this report.
