Airport with 200,000 passengers a day scrambles to deal with unexploded World War II bomb
You never know what you'll unearth during major construction works, yet workers at an airport with over 200,000 daily passengers had the shock of their lives when they dug up an unexploded bomb dating back to World War II.
With a historical conflict on the scale of the Second World War it's only natural that there remain fragments of it yet to be discovered in the eight decades since, and many of these are far more dangerous than you'd expect.
Primary among these potential threats are bombs – often also referred to as unexploded ordinances (UXOs) – which are typically weapons that were dropped by planes during active combat but for some reason failed to explode upon impact with the ground.
The years since have caused these to become hidden within the earth and they're usually only found during construction work, leaving people understandably panicked without any idea of how to deal with the situation.
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That fear only increased this week when a UXO was discovered at Changi Airport in Singapore, as its close proximity to a travel hub with hundreds of thousands of daily visitors put plenty of lives at risk.
Thankfully, as explained by a Facebook post from Singapore's Ministry of Defence, this unexploded bomb was successful disposed of on Thursday, April 2, through the means of a controlled detonation.
"Early this morning, the SAF's Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group (CBRE DG) successfully disposed of a 250kg World War II-era unexploded ordinance (UXO) at Tanah Merah Coast Road," the post explains.
"The aerial bomb was discovered during construction works on 31 Mar. The SAF CBRE DG has assessed the ordinance to be unsafe to move and required controlled on-site disposal.
"It was subsequently disposed through a controlled detonation in the early morning, minimising disruption to the public and airport operations."
Many have been left impressed by the aptitude the team displayed in safely detonating the huge device, as the inability to move it to a more remote area required the utmost care to avoid any casualties or damage to the nearby airport.
"Scary how close that bomb is to our airport," wrote one commenter below the post, adding that they're "glad the construction team is careful and knowledgeable enough to not to go kabooiii."
Tay Jun Jie, Commanding Officer of the 36th Battalion, noted that his team's priority "is to ensure a safe and controlled disposal, with the safety of the public and our personnel as our foremost priority."