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SCMP Reporter

A huge cache of second world war bombs and grenades was unearthed a metre beneath a bustling Kowloon street on Saturday,  sparking the evacuation of residents until the devices were destroyed in a series of controlled explosions the same  night.

The bombs - found by drainage workers in Tonkin Street, Cheung Sha Wan -  included rockets, aircraft bombs, grenades, mortar shells, artillery shells, anti-aircraft ordnance  and fuses, police said. It was  one of the biggest single discoveries of its kind in the city.

Bomb disposal experts carried out a series of controlled explosions at about 7.45pm at  the site at the junction of Tonkin Street and Fuk Wing Street after finding some of the devices were unstable.

About 100 residents and shopkeepers, mainly from two nearby six-storey  blocks of flats  overlooking the site, had to be evacuated for nearly 12 hours.

Police said they found  588 bombs at the site, of which 400  contained no explosives and were safe. Sixteen high-explosive devices, which  were deemed unstable, were detonated on site.

Bomb disposal experts were seen digging the site with hand tools and removing explosive devices by hand. The muddy and rusty devices were sprayed with water and then placed in separated categories under two tents.

Shamshuipo divisional commander Keith Dryden  said afterwards: 'Today we had a senior bomb disposal officer, a bomb disposal officer and three members from the explosives ordnance and disposal unit. They have been there at the dangerous end.'

Mr Dryden said the size of the security area was based on the advice of  bomb disposal officers.

'We cordoned it at a safe distance. We extended the cordon because we were doing an explosion to  render it safe,' he said.

A union leader has called for bomb disposal experts to search construction sites for explosives before work starts.

The chairman of the Construction Industry Employees General Union,  Choi Chun-wa,   also urged the government to issue guidelines to workers  on what to do if they discovered bombs on site.

The call came after  the discovery of 588 bombs by drainage workers in  Cheung Sha Wan.

'It is not over-reaction. We do not find bombs  every day. So, no construction workers have experience in handling bombs,' Mr Choi said. 'We were lucky that the workers did not mishandle the bombs  in Cheung Sha Wan, or else there could have been many injuries.

'Many bombs were buried underground. We do not know where they are. The contractor should be required to send bomb experts to search for possible buried bombs at sites and have them removed before allowing work to start.'

He  said workers  should report any suspicious articles they  find at sites to their contractors.

Some drainage workers on Sunday  returned to the construction site in Cheung Sha Wan  to start clearing the debris from Saturday's controlled explosions.

Speaking at a function on Sunday,  Commissioner of Police Dick Lee Ming-kwai  said some second world war bombs might still be buried underground in  parts of Hong Kong. 'Obviously this kind of incident happened in the past. Since Hong Kong  experienced World War  Two,  it is possible that some  bombs from the war have not been unearthed,' he said.

These stories are edited versions of articles by Clifford Lo, Felix Chan, Ng Kang-chung and Agnes Lam, published in the South China Morning Post on April 9 and 10

Factbox:

The bombs were left behind by British troops between 1940 and mid-1950, according to police.

A British army camp was built in the area in 1920s and was later occupied by Japanese troops during the second world war.

In March last year, workers uncovered a 68kg bomb from the second world war at a construction site in Aberdeen. The 60cm bomb was removed by disposal experts.

In October 2003, workers discovered a 50cm-long,  wartime-era bomb at a  site in Kwai Chung.

In May 2001, a bomb was found at a work site near Sogo department store in Causeway Bay.

Some 1,500 people needed to be evacuated before experts were sent to dispose of the 90kg bomb, also from the second world war.



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