A strong explosion happened near a U.S. military base on Okinawa, a southern island in Japan. This blast injured several Japanese soldiers. Thankfully, none of the injuries are life-threatening. The explosion took place while a team of Japanese soldiers was working with old, unexploded bombs at or near the Kadena Air Base.
These soldiers are specially trained to handle dangerous bombs left over from past wars. They were at a storage site that holds old bombs that were never exploded during World War II. This storage facility belongs to Okinawa Prefecture, the local government of the island. Four soldiers hurt their fingers while working at this place, and though the injuries were serious enough to report, everyone is expected to recover.
The Self Defense Force, or SDF, which is Japan’s military force, said they are trying to find out exactly what caused the explosion and where it happened. They are investigating the accident to understand all the details.
Unexploded Bombs Still a Danger Today
Okinawa is known as one of the toughest battlefields during World War II. Many bombs were dropped on this island, and not all of them exploded when they landed. Over time, many unexploded bombs have been found buried in the ground.
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Every time new construction work happens, workers sometimes find these dangerous bombs. When this happens, specially trained teams, like the one involved in this accident, are called in to safely remove or destroy the bombs. These teams carefully handle the bombs to prevent accidents, but sometimes, accidents like this explosion can still occur.
This is not the first time such accidents have happened. Just a few months ago, in October, an old U.S. bomb exploded at an airport in southern Japan. That explosion was very powerful and made a large hole in the ground. It also stopped many flights, causing trouble for travelers.
The fact that these bombs are still found and can explode shows how dangerous unexploded ordnance remains, even decades after the war ended.
Japanese Officials Respond to the Incident
Japanese officials are working hard to get clear answers about the explosion. They have confirmed that the injured soldiers were at a special site used to store unexploded bombs found around Okinawa.
Though the injuries were mainly to the soldiers’ fingers, the incident shows the risks that these bomb disposal teams face in their work. The Self Defense Force is responsible for handling such dangerous situations and making sure these bombs do not cause harm to people living on the island.
The local Okinawa government is also involved because the storage facility where the accident happened belongs to them. Both local and national officials are cooperating to find out the cause of the explosion and how it happened.