Police say WWII bomb at Upper Bukit Timah work site 'successfully disposed' of; affected nearby roads reopen
SINGAPORE — A World War II bomb that was unearthed last week was successfully disposed of on Tuesday (Sept 26) afternoon, the police said. Later, the police said affected roads in the area which had been closed for the blast had been reopened.
The 100kg aerial bomb was discovered last week at the work site of an upcoming condominium named The Myst, near Cashew MRT Station.
"The war relic, which was discovered at a construction site along Upper Bukit Timah Road during excavation works, has been successfully disposed of at 1.45pm today," the police said in a Facebook post.
Following evacuations of residents living in the vicinity of the detonation site, the first detonation of the bomb took place at about 12.28pm on Tuesday.
A second detonation followed at about 1.45pm, more than an hour after the first.
An explanation of why two detonations were needed was not immediately available.
Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the detonation site after the controlled blast.
The explosion also caused dirt to fly into the air.
Several government agencies assessed the construction site in relation to various infrastructure, the police said.
They are:
- The Building and Construction Authority
- National water agency PUB
- National power grid operator SP Group
- The Housing and Development Board (HDB)
The officials also looked at nearby drains and pipelines, as well as the evacuated buildings to ensure that the structures are safe.
For a period during and after the blasts, a portion of the Bukit Panjang Flyover and Upper Bukit Timah Road were closed to traffic, the police said.
The affected roads were:
- Bukit Panjang Flyover – Woodlands Road towards Upper Bukit Timah Road. The slip road towards Bukit Panjang Road remains accessible
- Petir Road towards Upper Bukit Timah Road
- Upper Bukit Timah Road towards Woodlands Road
Police told TODAY that the roads had been reopened as of 5.05pm on Tuesday.
The police's Jurong division notified residents at 5.08pm via their respective estates' WhatsApp channels that the safety checks had been completed and the area was safe.
Shortly after receiving the message, residents who had taken refuge at the holding area at Senja Cashew Community Club began to leave and return home.
The early indications suggest that nothing untoward has happened to homes in the area.
Residents TODAY spoke to from evacuated properties such as Block 154 Gangsa Road, and the condominiums Hazel Park Terrace and The Linear, said that nothing was damaged at their homes and that they faced no issues going back.
