A suspected bomb unearthed at a construction site in Hong Kong triggered a brief evacuation and police cordon on Tuesday but was later identified as a British cannon barrel, not an explosive device.
Buried about three metres underground, the barrel measured about 4m long and 15cm in diameter. It was found at a construction site on Mody Road near the Urban Council Centenary Garden in East Tsim Sha Tsui on Tuesday at about 12.10pm local time.
As a precaution, officers cordoned off a section of Granville Road between Chatham Road South and Science Museum Road for over an hour. They also moved out about 40 workers from the area.
Police explosive experts declared the area safe by mid-afternoon.
It’s fairly common for weapons or relics such as bombs, mines, or cannon barrels from past conflicts, particularly World War II, to be found in the city, often during construction or excavation work.
The newly unearthed cannon barrel dates back to British colonial rule. When Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945, it became a target for Allied attacks, particularly its shipyards and harbour facilities that the Japanese military was using.
“Hong Kong’s main value during the Japanese occupation was its ship repairing facilities, so putting those out of action was harming the Japanese war effort,” historian Jason Wordie told AFP in 2018. Mr Wordie added that there were likely “stacks more” unexploded bombs from Allied forces still buried and awaiting discovery.
A 500-pound Japanese bomb from World War II was discovered underwater near Shek Ngau Chau in Sai Kung last year and safely detonated. The operation involved the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau, Marine Police and other specialist units.
In September 2022, Hong Kong police launched a major air-land-sea lockdown ahead of a high-risk operation to safely detonate a British naval mine from World War II containing over 220kg of explosives. The intact mine, found 15 metres underwater near Cape D’Aguilar, was the first of its kind discovered off Hong Kong Island in 30 years.
In January 2018, police defused a 450kg World War II bomb made in the US and found at a Wan Chai construction site, prompting the evacuation of over 4,000 people and a 24-hour cordon.
The bomb, dropped during the Japanese occupation of the island, was severely damaged and difficult to access, making the operation especially risky. It was the second such device found in the same area within a week, according to news reports at the time.
The largest bomb ever discovered in the city was a 907kg wartime explosive which was safely defused in 2014.
