Sudden WWII bomb blast forces airport shutdown in Japan

[JACK AYLMER]

A WORLD WAR II-ERA BOMB, BURIED FOR DECADES, SUDDENLY EXPLODED AT AN AIRPORT IN SOUTHWESTERN JAPAN, LEAVING A MASSIVE CRATER — GROUNDING DOZENS OF FLIGHTS WEDNESDAY.

THE BLAST OCCURRED AT MIYAZAKI AIRPORT, WHERE THE 500-POUND U.S. ORDNANCE DETONATED UNDER A TAXIWAY, FORCING THE CANCELLATION OF OVER 80 FLIGHTS. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. VIDEO FOOTAGE CAPTURED DEBRIS FLYING, LEAVING BEHIND A 23-FOOT-WIDE, 3-FOOT-DEEP CRATER.

AUTHORITIES ARE STILL INVESTIGATING WHAT CAUSED IT TO DETONATE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.

MIYAZAKI AIRPORT, BUILT IN 1943 AS A TRAINING FIELD FOR THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY, WAS ONCE USED FOR KAMIKAZE MISSIONS. SEVERAL UNEXPLODED BOMBS DROPPED BY THE U.S. DURING WORLD WAR II HAVE SINCE BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE AREA.

THIS FOLLOWS A RECENT OPERATION IN OKINAWA WHERE TROOPS SAFELY REMOVED A 551-POUND WORLD WAR II BOMB FROM NAHA CITY. THE BOMB’S DISCOVERY FORCED 1,400 PEOPLE TO EVACUATE.

OFFICIALS ESTIMATE THAT AROUND 2,000 TONS OF UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE REMAIN ON OKINAWA FROM THE WORLD WAR II BATTLE.

JAPAN CONTINUES ITS EFFORTS TO SAFELY REMOVE THESE REMNANTS —  RECENT OPERATIONS NEUTRALIZED DOZENS OF UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. CREWS HAVE ALREADY DISPOSED OF NEARLY 22 TONS OF ORDNANCE BETWEEN APRIL 2023 AND MARCH 2024

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