An unexploded bomb dropped during World War II and later buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday morning. The runway was damaged and more than 80 flights were canceled, but no one was injured.
The explosion occurred at Miyazaki Airport in southwest Japan.
Japanese Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb unexpectedly detonated, but the explosion left a crater 7 meters wide and more than 3 feet deep, according to Reuters.
Witness a World War II bomb detonating on a Japanese airport runway
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The airport was a former military airfield from World War II
Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force bomb disposal personnel determined the explosion was caused by a U.S. 500-pound bomb, likely dropped during a World War II air raid. Miyazaki Airport was built by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1943 as a training base for aviation cadets and an airfield from which kamikaze pilots depart on suicide missions. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun has reported in the past that unexploded ordnance was found near the airport.
It remains unclear why the bomb, which had been inactive for more than 70 years, exploded.
The airport is scheduled to resume operations on Thursday.
Unexploded bombs in Japan are not uncommon.
Given the large number of bombs dropped on Japan during World War II, it is not uncommon to find unexploded World War II bombs in Japan.
As Stars and Stripes reported, just earlier this week, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force detonated and disposed of a World War II-era bomb found at a construction site in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture. Japanese officials estimate that there could be as much as 2,000 tons of unexploded ordnance on Okinawa Island alone.
This story has been updated with video and new information.
Contributed by: Reuters
Max Hauptman is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.
