Jan. 29 (UPI) — Hong Kong police on Sunday defused a World War II bomb that was found in a downtown construction site, officials said.
The 1,000-pound bomb was found by construction workers the day before, Xinhua reported. Police then evacuated 1,500 people from the area and brought in the department’s entire bomb defusal team.
Tony Chow, senior bomb disposal officer with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, said the bomb had a potential blast range from 1,000 to 2,000 meters.
By Sunday afternoon, police announced on Facebook that the bomb defusal team had “safely handled” the bomb and the area was reopened, CNN reported.
Hong Kong police said the bomb was a U.S. AN-M65 device that was likely dropped between 1941 and 1945.
Saturday’s discovery was the second time a World War II bomb was found in Hong Kong’s downtown area in the past year.
In January 2017, a U.S., World War 2-era bomb was found at a construction site, leading to evacuations and the bomb defusal team being called in.
