• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A World War II vintage bomb was discovered during a routine excavation project along a river at Hacienda Minulu-an in Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City, Negros Occidental on Wednesday, July 22.
Backhoe operator, alias “Raprap,” 32, found the 100-pound explosive when the bucket of the heavy machinery struck the unexploded ordnance while excavating soil for an ongoing flood control project.
Panic ensued among the construction crew, who fled for safety for fear of imminent detonation, when the heavily corroded bomb suddenly began emitting dense white smoke.
The Talisay City Police Station cordoned off the immediate blast zone and coordinated with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and K9 Unit of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.
The ordnance was identified by the EOD as a corroded M47 100-pound white phosphorus bomb.
In a report, the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region said the EOD team successfully performed a specialized render safe procedure on-site, neutralizing the immediate chemical and explosive hazard.
Following the intervention, the ordnance was safely transported to a garbage dumping site in Barangay Concepcion, where it remains secured pending final disposal protocols.
Without swift EOD intervention, the unexploded munition posed a critical threat to human life and property, carrying a potential blast hazard radius of 300 to 500 meters capable of causing severe casualties or fatalities, the PRO-NIR said. | GPB
