Unexploded WWII Shell Detonated on Etajima

A team of bomb disposal experts from Kyoto detonated an unexploded World War II shell in Fukae in Ogaki on the island of Etajima yesterday.

The 135cm long, 50cm diameter US made shell was discovered by a worker in an area designated for olive cultivation on June 28.

The team surrounded the 500kg shell which was packed with about 250kg of explosive powder with 150 sand bags. The ignition of the 250kg explosive powder packed inside the shell of at 10am yesterday sent sand 50m into the air and blasted it as far as 100m away. The area was not one in which people would usually frequent, but a 500m exclusion zone was imposed for good measure.

 Source: Chugoku Shinbun