Hong Kong police destroy underwater mine filled with more than 220kg of high explosives
- Divers from force’s elite squad, known as the Flying Tigers, and bomb-disposal officers were deployed to area around noon
- Device had been laid by British Royal Navy during second world war, according to senior superintendent
Hong Kong police have destroyed a wartime naval mine filled with more than 220kg (485 pounds) of high explosives on the seabed off Cape D’Aguilar in an operation that resulted in a loud bang and a plume of spindrift.
The joint operation on Friday by the force’s explosive ordnance disposal bureau and special duties unit began at 11am, with a marine vessel stationed around two buoys indicating the location of the mine.
Other marine police vessels and a helicopter from the Government Flying Service patrolled the sea and overhead area to ensure no one entered the restricted zone.
Divers from the force’s elite squad, known as the Flying Tigers, and bomb-disposal officers were deployed to the area around noon. Reporters watched from the Cape D’Aguilar Satellite Earth Station, about 2km from the mine’s location.
After firing off four signal shots, the mine – found at a depth of 15 metres (49 feet), 1.5km (0.9 miles) northeast of Cape D’Aguilar – was destroyed at about 1pm. A loud bang was heard at the scene, and an explosion led to a spindrift on the sea surface.
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The Marine Department launched an air-land-sea lockdown within a 1km radius of the mine’s location starting on Thursday until the end of the operation.
Acting senior superintendent Suryanto Chin-chiu of the force’s explosive ordnance disposal bureau said six divers were deployed during the operation.
“Divers from the special duties unit guided us to the location of the mine and ensured our safety when entering and leaving the area, while our duty was to safely detonate the mine to eliminate the public threat,” he said.
Cheung Lap-tak, an assistant bomb disposal officer, said: “There was 500 pounds of trinitrotoluene (TNT) debris in the mine. It has all been destroyed.
“The operation minimised any potential damage to the marine environment,” he added.
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Operators on the vessels also felt strong blast waves, Cheung said.
Suryanto on Thursday said it was the first time an intact British-made mine had been found off Hong Kong Island in three decades.
He added the device had been laid by the British Royal Navy during the second world war, and had remained there for more than 70 years, warning that although the mine had been on the seabed for decades, its explosive content could still detonate.
