WWII-era US bomb explodes leaving massive crater in the runway at Miyazaki Airport, Japan
An unexploded US bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport has exploded, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials say.
Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.
Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defense Forces and police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 225kg US bomb and there was no further danger.
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A video recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of asphalt into the air like a fountain.
Videos broadcast on Japanese television showed a crater in the taxiway reportedly about 7 metres in diameter and 1 metre deep.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said more than 80 flights had been cancelled at the airport, and the airport hopes to resume operations on Thursday morning.
Miyazaki Airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field from which some kamikaze pilots took off on suicide attack missions.
Several unexploded bombs dropped by the US military during World War II have been unearthed in the area, Defence Ministry officials said.
Hundreds of tonnes of unexploded bombs from the war remain buried around Japan and are sometimes dug up at construction sites.
