Hong Kong evacuates thousands after World War II bomb discovery

Hong Kong authorities are planning to evacuate thousands of people on Friday after a World War II bomb was discovered in Hong Kong.

Police said the bomb was about 4.9 feet long and weighed about 450 kilograms. They believe it is still fully operational.

District police commander Andy Chan said, "We have to activate an emergency evacuation plan because the bomb is very dangerous to defuse and remove."

Police also said that about 6,000 people from 18 buildings in the Quarry Bay area will be evacuated on Friday night. The bomb disposal work will start on Saturday morning and the entire process could take about 12 hours.

According to them, the recovered bomb contains about 227 kilograms of explosives, which could pose a serious risk of loss of life if mishandled.

Hong Kong was one of Japan's primary targets during World War II.

There was fierce fighting between the Japanese and Allied forces, and even now, nearly a hundred years later, mountaineers and construction workers continue to discover unexploded bombs buried underground.

In May 2018, a similar bomb was discovered in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district. Authorities had to evacuate 1,200 residents and it took about 20 hours to defuse it.