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An unexploded bomb dropped during World War II and subsequently buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday morning. This damaged a runway and canceled more than 80 flights, but no one was injured.
The explosion happened at the Miyazaki Airport in southwest Japan.
Officials from Japan’s transportation ministry said that there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb unexpectedly exploded, but the detonation left behind a crater that was 23 feet wide and more than three feet deep, according to Reuters.
Watch World War II bomb explode on runway of Japan airport
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Airport was a former World War II military airfield
Bomb disposal personnel from the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force determined that the explosion was caused by an American 500-pound bomb that was likely dropped during a World War II air raid. The Miyazaki airport was constructed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1943 as a training base for aviation cadets, as well as an airfield from which kamikaze pilots took off on suicide attack missions. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that unexploded ordnance has been found near the airport in the past.
It remains unknown what caused the bomb to explode after lying inert for more than seven decades.
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The airport is expected to resume operations on Thursday.
Unexploded bombs in Japan not uncommon
Finding unexploded ordnance from World War II is not an uncommon occurrence in Japan, given the massive amount of bombs that were dropped on the country during the conflict.
Just earlier this week, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force detonated and disposed of a World War II-era bomb that had been discovered at a construction site in the city of Naha in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture, as reported by Stars and Stripes. Japanese officials estimate that there may be as much as 2,000 tons of unexploded ordnance on the island of Okinawa alone.
This story was updated with a video and new information.
Contributing: Reuters
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com
