World War 2 bomb found buried in downtown Hong Kong

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Hong Kong police on Sunday defused a World War 2 bomb that was found in a downtown construction site, officials said.

The 1,000-pound bomb was found by construction workers the day before, Xinhua reported. Police then evacuated 1,500 people from the area and brought in the department's entire bomb disposal team.

Tony Chow, senior bomb disposal officer with the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Bureau, said the bomb had a potential blast range of between 1,000 to 2,000 meters.

By Sunday afternoon, police announced on Facebook page that the bomb defusion team had "safely handled" the bomb and the area was reopened, CNN reported.

Hong Kong police said the bomb was a U.S. AN-M65 device that was likely dropped between 1941 and 1945.

Saturday's discovery was the second time a World War II bomb was found in Hong Kong's downtown area in the past year.

In January 2017, a U.S. World War 2-era bomb was found at a construction site, leading to evacuations and the bomb disposal team being called in.