A US bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded on Wednesday, cancelling more than 80 flights.
The blast, which caused a large crater in the taxiway of Japan’s Miyazaki Airport, did not injure anybody.
No planes were nearby when the explosion occurred, said officials from Japan’s Land and Transport Ministry.
An investigation by the Self-Defence Forces and police confirmed the explosion was caused by a 500-pound US bomb and there was no further danger.
JUST IN - Bomb dropped by U.S. in World War II explodes at airport in Japan, causing runway damage and cancellation of 80 flights — CBS pic.twitter.com/aSLKkJb0m7
— Win Smart, CFA (@WinfieldSmart) October 2, 2024
Officials are probing what caused its sudden detonation.
A video recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of asphalt into the air.
Japanese media broadcast footage showing a crater in the taxiway of around seven metres width and a depth of a metre.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said more than 80 flights had been cancelled at the airport as of mid-afternoon Wednesday.
But flights resumed on Thursday morning after the damage was quickly repaired.
Miyazaki Airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field from which some pilots took off on suicide attack missions.
A number of unexploded bombs dropped by the US military during World War II have been unearthed in the area, Defence Ministry officials said.
Hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs from the war remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites.
