Residents return to their homes after successful disposal of 100kg war relic in Upper Bukit Timah
SINGAPORE: Residents in Upper Bukit Timah were allowed to return home after the successful disposal of a WWII bomb in Upper Bukit Timah on Tuesday (Sep 26), about nine hours after vacating their premises.
After two controlled detonations in the afternoon, the authorities carried out safety checks in the area from 1.45pm to about 5pm.
At 5.08pm, residents were notified through WhatsApp channels set up for their respective estates that safety checks had been completed and they could return home. Police also told CNA shortly after that all road closures in the area had been lifted.
At Hazel Park condominium, CNA saw cars beginning to enter the premises as residents filtered in through the front gate just five to 10 minutes after the announcement.
The 100kg WWII aerial bomb was unearthed last week at the work site of the upcoming Myst condominium near Cashew MRT station.
The two blasts took place at about 12.30pm and 1.45pm, the latter of which could be heard from as far as Senja-Cashew Community Club about 2km away from the site.
From CNA’s vantage point at Block 153 Gangsa Road, sandbags and dirt were seen spewing out from the area surrounded by concrete blocks due to the impact of the explosion.
Following the two blasts, the authorities assessed the construction site, roads, nearby drains and pipelines, as well as the evacuated buildings for structural safety, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a statement on Facebook.
On Tuesday morning, more than 4,000 people living and working in the area evacuated by about 8am.
Residents at the nearby Housing and Development Board (HDB) and condominium blocks were told to leave their windows open and shut off the electricity in their units.
To facilitate the disposal of the bomb, authorities had earlier said that roads would be closed to traffic until 7pm at Bukit Panjang Flyover, between Woodlands Road and Petir Road, and at Upper Bukit Timah Road, between Petir Road and Cashew Road. The roads eventually reopened just after 5.30pm.
Some residents in the area who evacuated on Tuesday morning made their way to Senja-Cashew CC to stay there for the day while the operation was being carried out.
Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who is the Member of Parliament representing the Cashew ward in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, visited the community club at about 10am.
Everything was going “exactly according to plan”, including the evacuation of residents and management of the traffic situation, he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
“We thought it’s better to over-prepare than to under-prepare,” he continued.
Residents he spoke to at the CC were calm, and they thanked government agencies for their “very intensive” preparations over the last few days, said Dr Balakrishnan.
“Because there’s that trust and cooperation and sense of looking out for each other, it makes things so much easier.”
After the successful operation, Dr Balakrishnan told residents at about 2.30pm that the community club that further safety checks may take about two more hours.
The safety checks concluded at about 5pm.
The last reported incident of an unexplored WWII relic was in 2019, when a 50kg aerial bomb was found at Jiak Kim Street in the River Valley area, also during excavation works at a construction site.
In 2016, the Singapore Armed Forces’ Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit also disposed of a 100kg war relic found at a construction site in Mandai.
