Hong Kong police rely on past experience to deal with third unexploded second world war bomb to be found at Wan Chai construction site
Bomb disposal officers take 20 hours to defuse device despite finding themselves in ‘unique’ situation
Police said they were able to defuse a wartime bomb on Friday several hours quicker than two previous devices because of the experience gained during those earlier incidents – even though this one was unique.
The shell was buried vertically at the site of the Sha Tin-Central rail link near Wan Chai Swimming Pool, while the two found in January were lying flat.
Nestor Lai Ngo-yan, a bomb disposal officer, called the operation “unique” because of the shell’s positioning. Two-thirds of it was buried beneath mud that had hardened over the decades.
“It took us a long time to clean the mud outside the shell because the bomb was not stable,” he said.
Senior bomb disposal officer Tony Chow Shek-kin said earlier it was upside down with its front part buried in the ground and the detonator already broken.
But the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau wrapped up the job in about 20 hours, four to six hours faster than previously, because, Lai said, “police are more experienced with defusing such devices”.