Officials are racing to evacuate about 6,000 people from 18 buildings before 11 pm on Friday after a live 450-kilogram wartime bomb was unearthed on a construction site in Hong Kong’s Quarry Bay.
The bomb was uncovered in the afternoon at the construction site on Pan Hoi Street. Police officers and members of the district’s community care teams immediately started to advise residents of nearby buildings to move to a safe place.
The bomb, dating back to World War II and thought to have been dropped by a US aircraft, is functional and highly dangerous, according to the assessment by the police’s bomb disposal team, which was dispatched when the bomb was found.
READ MORE: Meet the heroes defusing WWII bombs in HK
The bomb disposal operation is expected to last throughout the night.
The 1.5-meter-long bomb, was retrieved from 10 meters below the ground, said Eastern District Commander chief superintendent Andy Chan Tin-chu.
He said the same type of bomb was discovered in 2018 at the construction site of the Sha Tin to Central Link in Wan Chai. It will to be made safe at the scene, Chan said, urging the residents to cooperate by evacuating as swiftly as possible.
The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Bureau is planning to deactivate the bomb at 2 am, by dissecting it and set off the explosive. It is hoped that the operation will be completed in 12 hours and nearby roads would be reopened then.
Residents will be able to return home on Saturday at the earliest.
Acting Divisional Commander (Hong Kong East) of the Fire Services Department Lo Shui-sang said two fire engines, two ambulances and one Mobile Casualty Treatment Centre have been deployed to help the evacuation. The department also has fire hoses and firefighting robots on standby to render full support to the disposal operation.
Home Affairs Department Eastern District Officer Henry Lai, who was also at the scene to help evacuate the residents, said 35 community care teams from Eastern District have been dispatched to assist the evacuation, with their peers from Wan Chai standing at the ready. Lai said tour buses have been arranged to take affected residents to community centers, hotels and hostels.
READ MORE: Hong Kong police defuse wartime bomb
Police officers arrived at the scene soon after receiving a report around noon.
Nearby areas were cordoned off following the discovery. Nearby roads and MTR station exits were temporarily closed as well.
Three bombs were found in 2018 in a construction site of the Sha Tin to Central Link. In May 2018, a US’ AN-M65 bomb, measuring 145 centimeters long and weighing 450 kg, was discovered in Wan Chai. The EOD dispatched 30 to 40 personnel and spent 20 hours diffusing the bomb. About 1,250 residents were evacuated at that time.
