Workers of a private firm yesterday found 10 World War II vintage bombs during an excavation in the shores of Kawit Island in the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City.
A Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) police team accompanied by military personnel arrived at the scene at 2 p.m. and ordered the area sealed off.
There’s a risk the unexploded bombs could still go off, said Staff Sgt. Sergio Dominguez of the Central Command bomb disposal unit.
He said eight Japanese aerial bombs and two “depth chargers” were found.
The aerial bombs weigh 250 pounds each while the depth chargers which are used by ships and submarines weigh 150 pounds.
“If the tip of the Japanese vintage bomb is hit, it is very delicate. If one bomb will explode, the rest of the bombs will explode,” Dominguez said in Cebuano.
Vintage bombs are “high explosive” and have no expiration date, he said.
“We don’t have bombs like these today.”
Orders were given to immediately stop excavation work by Dakay Construction and Development Corp. (DCDC).
When Cebu Daily News visited the site yesterday, a police cordon was set up along the shores to prevent people from getting near.
Dominguez said the bombs excrete “picric acid,” which could cause skin rashes in those exposed to it.
DCDC foreman Gerald Talledo said they were building a riprap for a proposed beach resort when one backhoe hit a vintage bomb that excreted a yellowish chemical powder.
“We got scared that it would explode. It was a pointed object. To our surprise, it was a bomb,” Talledo said in Cebuano.
He alerted the management about the discovery. Senior Insp. Sandley Sabang, SWAT chief, said they were informed about the discovery at 8 a.m.
Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district said the bombs should be disposed of by the military.
“We’d rather hand it to the Army. As of now, there are hundreds and thousands of tons of vintage bombs gathered at the Corregidor that are not even defused yet,” he told Cebu Daily News. Rhea Ruth V. Rosell, Correspondent with Correspondent Edison delos Angeles