Current:Home > Contact-usA US bomb from World War II explodes at a Japanese airport, causing a large crater in a taxiway-LoTradeCoin
A US bomb from World War II explodes at a Japanese airport, causing a large crater in a taxiway
View Date:2024-12-23 21:19:15
TOKYO (AP) — An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said.
Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.
Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defense Forces and police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 500-pound U.S. bomb and there was no further danger. They were determining what caused its sudden detonation.
A video recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of asphalt into the air like a fountain. Videos broadcast on Japanese television showed a crater in the taxiway reportedly about 7 meters (yards) in diameter and 1 meter (3 feet) deep.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said more than 80 flights had been canceled at the airport, which hopes to resume operations on Thursday morning.
Miyazaki Airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field from which some kamikaze pilots took off on suicide attack missions.
A number of unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. military during World War II have been unearthed in the area, Defense Ministry officials said.
Hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs from the war remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites.
veryGood! (83)
Related
- NFL Week 11 picks straight up and against spread: Will Bills hand Chiefs first loss of season?
- Massachusetts House launches budget debate, including proposed spending on shelters, public transit
- Man who shot ex-Saints star Will Smith faces sentencing for manslaughter
- Russia extends Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's pretrial detention yet again
- What’s the secret to growing strong, healthy nails?
- Christina Applegate Explains Why She’s Wearing Adult Diapers After Sapovirus Diagnosis
- Mississippi city settles lawsuit filed by family of man who died after police pulled him from car
- Pairing of Oreo and Sour Patch Kids candies produces new sweet, tart cookies
- Jon Gruden joins Barstool Sports three years after email scandal with NFL
- NFL draft best available players: Ranking top 125 entering Round 1
Ranking
- Missing Ole Miss student declared legally dead as trial for man accused in his death looms
- Colleges nationwide turn to police to quell pro-Palestine protests as commencement ceremonies near
- 5 things workers should know about the new federal ban on noncompete agreements
- Kaley Cuoco Details How Daughter Matilda Is Already Reaching New Heights
- Mike Tyson-Jake Paul: How to watch the fight, time, odds
- Watch 'The Office' stars Steve Carell and John Krasinski reunite in behind-the-scenes clip
- Flint, Michigan, residents call on Biden to pay for decade-old federal failures in water crisis
- Imprisoned man indicted in 2012 slaying of retired western Indiana farmer
Recommendation
-
Tuskegee University closes its campus to the public, fires security chief after shooting
-
The Latest | Israeli strikes in Rafah kill at least 5 as ship comes under attack in the Gulf of Aden
-
Why Taylor Swift's 'all the racists' lyric on 'I Hate It Here' is dividing fans, listeners
-
Mississippi city settles lawsuit filed by family of man who died after police pulled him from car
-
Halle Berry surprises crowd in iconic 2002 Elie Saab gown from her historic Oscar win
-
Massachusetts House launches budget debate, including proposed spending on shelters, public transit
-
Magnet fisher uncovers rifle, cellphone linked to a couple's 2015 deaths in Georgia
-
Biden grants clemency to 16 nonviolent drug offenders