Hong Kong: US Bomb from World War Two Defused by Police

Hong Kong police have successfully defused a 2,000 pound (900kg) bomb from World War Two, described as the biggest wartime bomb to be found in the city.

 More than 2,200 people were evacuated when the bomb was found in a construction site in the city's Happy Valley district on Thursday afternoon.

The AN-M66 bomb contained 1,000 pounds (450kg) of explosives.

The device is believed to have been dropped by the US Navy during WW2, when Japan occupied the then British colony.

Senior bomb disposal officer Jimmy Yuen said the disposal had taken a long time because of "technical problems when drilling holes into the bomb and because of the large amount of explosives inside it".

More than 2,200 people were evacuated on Thursday

"Because the explosive inside was very sensitive, we had to cut the shell in a low-temperature environment, so the process took longer than expected," he added.

On Thursday, he had told reporters that the bomb, if it exploded, could affect a radius of up to 10m (30ft) and damage nearby buildings.
Other unexploded bombs from WW2 have been discovered in Hong Kong in the past.