US bomb explodes at Japanese airport

WWII-era ordnance buried deep under the taxiway went off at Miyazaki Airport on the island nation’s coast

An unexploded US bomb went off at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan on Wednesday, leaving a large crater in the taxiway and disrupting operations at the facility.

The explosion occurred early in the morning, when the coastal airport was not too busy. Luckily no planes were passing the spot where the munition was located.

Surveillance footage circulating online shows the explosion propelling a tall column of dirt and smoke into the air. The pattern of the blast suggests that the ordnance had been buried deep in the ground.

The explosion left a large crater in the side of one of the airport’s taxiways. The incident prompted the closure of the facility, as more than 70 flights were grounded following the blast.

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The airport is expected to be operational on Thursday after the hole is filled and the taxiway’s surface is repaired.

The explosion was caused by a 500-pound US bomb, which had remained buried under the airport since the Second World War, Japanese Self-Defense Forces and police believe, according to local media. The authorities are currently investigating the causes of the sudden detonation.

Miyazaki Airport was originally constructed as a military airfield in 1943 at an Imperial Japanese Navy base. It served as a major staging point for infamous kamikaze pilots: nearly 50 suicide missions were flown from there.