Experts want old bombs ‘disposed of right away’

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

FIVE more vintage bombs were unearthed near the Sugbo building at the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City yesterday, bringing to 23 the number of bombs that have been dug up in the area.

The Cebu City Government, however, has halted the manual excavation of the bombs, following the recommendation of explosives experts.

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Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, Central Command (Centcom) spokesperson, said in a TV5 Aksiyon Bisaya report that the bombs, believed to be from World War II, can still explode.

“The bomb disposal unit advised us to dispose of the bombs right away,” he told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.

Tampus said representatives from Centcom, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) and the Cebu City Government will go to Carmen town today around 9 a.m. to find a suitable place to detonate the bombs.

Philip Zafra, the mayor's chief-of-staff, said the area has been secured by the Special Weapons and Tactics team of the CCPO.

While the area where the bombs were excavated was cordoned off, Dakay Construction and Development Corp. is continuing its construction works at the periphery, Zafra said.
The construction company is making a seawall of the White Sands Beach Resort, which is part of the SRP development.

However, Centcom’s EOD has recommended that the construction of the resort must be stopped temporarily.

One of the bombs leaked picric acid, an odorless crystalline yellow chemical compound used in military explosives, into the seawater.

Lt. Col. Tampus advised the public not to swim in the waters off the area because they might get allergies.

Last Monday dawn, a construction worker accidentally discovered 18 bombs, believed to be remnants dating back to World War II, in the SRP’s shore with the use of a backhoe.

Swat Chief Supt. Arnel Banzon, in an interview with radio dyHP, said there are still more bombs buried at the SRP.

The rusty devices are classified as general-purpose bombs (GPB), which are an air-dropped bomb, he explained.

The first GPBs were produced from 1937 until 1941 and they weighed around 40 pounds.