Shocking moment US World War 2 bomb explodes on runway at Japanese airport – leaving huge crater as flights halted
THIS is the shocking moment a World War Two bomb explodes on an airport runway – bringing flights to a screeching halt.
An airport in Japan shut on Wednesday after a bomb buried under Miyazaki Airport unexpectedly blasted a hole in the runway.
Footage recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of tarmac into the air.
The explosion left a crater about 23ft wide and 3ft deep on the runway, with more than 80 flights cancelled.
No aircrafts were nearby when the bomb exploded, according to Land and Transport ministry officials. No causalities were reported.
A bomb disposal team from Japan’s Self-Defense Forces confirmed a 500lb US bomb had been the source of the blast after they had been called to the site.
A transport minister said they could not confirm when the bomb was dropped, local media reported it was likely during World War Two.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said: “There is no threat of a second explosion, and police and firefighters are currently examining the scene.
He added the airport aimed to reopen on Thursday.
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.
Multiple unexploded bombs have previously been found at Miyazaki airport, a transport ministry official said.
More than 79 years since the end of the war, unexploded bombs from the intense airstrikes are still found across Japan.
Meanwhile, the tyres of a Ryanair flight exploded during landing, leaving the jet and passengers stuck on the runway.
Departing and arriving flights were suspended at Bergamo Orio al Serio airport, near Milan, Italy, following the horror scare.
It is understood the flight was coming from Barcelona when its tyres popped, L’Eco Di Bergamo reports.
The reason behind the accident is not yet known.
No injuries have been reported as passengers disembarked the aircraft via mobile stairs on the runway.
Two emergency vehicles from the Bergamo headquarters and five from the airport responded right away.
It comes after a Ryanair flight to Ibiza had to be diverted after violence broke out when a drunken Brit downed neat vodka then assaulted cabin crew and other passengers.
The plane carrying holidaymakers from Manchester landed in Toulouse, where police hauled the sozzled traveller and his ex-girlfriend off the plane.
Video of the attack showed the boozed-up travellers shouting and swearing at French cops, before assaulting a fellow holidaymaker as he was being escorted off the flight.
Passengers say trouble broke out after the man booked himself onto the plane after learning his ex-girlfriend and her brother were going to be on the same flight.