Arsenal Accumulation

Every once in a while a WWII bomb or grenade is found somewhere in Hong Kong.

The bomb squad rolls in and either hauls it away or blows it up, and life goes on.

But when a massive stockpile was unearthed only three feet beneath Tonkin Street in Cheung Sha Wan, life was put on hold for half a day.

The bombs ... 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.

[ ... ]

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.

... "The dangerous part is where the bomb disposal officer has to go into the trench and take out these items one by one and examine them."

[ ... ]

The bombs were left behind by British troops between 1940 and mid-1950 ...

... an adviser at the Hong Kong Museum of History, said a British army camp was built in the area in 1920s and was later occupied by Japanese troops during the second world war.

All sorts of unspent ordnance is buried about Hong Kong. Digging, landslides and typhoons can bring old bombs to the surface.

From what I understand, the hills around the old West Brigade headquarters at the Wong Nai Chung Gap are still loaded with munitions.

← Older Posts · 早前 | →