A blast from the first detonation was heard at around 12.30pm on Sept 26.
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A 100kg World War II bomb found in Upper Bukit Timah was successfully detonated on Tuesday (Sept 26) afternoon, after more than 4,000 nearby residents were evacuated in the morning.
The police said in an update on Facebook that the bomb was successfully disposed of by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal team at 1.45pm.
In an updated Facebook post at about 5.10pm, it said the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), national water agency PUB, grid operator SP Group and HDB had completed their assessment of the construction site where the bomb was found.
Nearby drains and pipelines, and evacuated buildings and roads were found to be structurally safe, and residents had been informed they could return home.
The bomb relic was unearthed during excavation works last Wednesday at the construction site for The Myst condominium.
What followed was the largest evacuation exercise involving the disposal of a World War II-era bomb, affecting some 1,000 residential units at The Linear, Hazel Park, Hazel Park Terrace and Block 154 Gangsa Road.
The detonation operation involved more than 40 SAF personnel, said the Army in a Facebook post. It said soldiers used sandbags and concrete blocks to build a protective wall around the bomb to minimise the impact from the blast.
The bomb, believed to be one of the largest wartime munitions unearthed in Singapore, was destroyed in two controlled explosions.
A blast from the first detonation was heard from Block 153 Gangsa Road at around 12.30pm. The blast from the second detonation was heard from Senja-Cashew Community Club (CC), about 2km away.
John Chia, a 65-year-old passer-by, heard the first explosion from a nearby Shell petrol kiosk. “I was standing opposite the Shell petrol kiosk station along Upper Bukit Timah Road. It was a very loud blast, it shocked me,” he said.
As a precaution, train services on the Downtown Line were suspended during the detonation operation, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
In another Facebook post at around 5.30pm, LTA said affected roads in the area had re-opened, and bus and train services had resumed normal operations.
Police officers had put up roadblocks at affected streets at around 10.30am, to the surprise of some commuters.
Private tutors Annabelle Leow, 26, and Goh Zhi Wei, 39, learnt of the bus diversions from a notice pasted on the windscreen of an affected bus, service 67, that they were on. The pair then changed their lunch plans.
The authorities had told residents on Sunday they should not be home between 8am and 7pm on Tuesday. Before vacating their homes, residents were told by police to mark their doors with a green strip of paper.
When The Straits Times arrived there on Tuesday morning, about 100 residents were seen milling about, most of them elderly.
Cheah Yoke Peng, 77, a resident of Hazel Park, came to the CC from Changi Airport with her luggage in tow after her flight from China landed at about 7am.
She had spent seven days in Xi’an with her brother and sister, and was exhausted after the five-hour flight.
Cheah said the exercise was an inconvenience. “I had no rest at all. I’m so sleepy now,” she said.
Tourist Roman Ansay, 38, on the other hand, said he was happy to be a part of history. The Filipino national was in Singapore to visit his brother, a resident at Hazel Park.
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, the MP for the ward in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC where the bomb was found, visited Senja-Cashew CC on Tuesday morning and spoke to some residents.
Dr Balakrishnan said he wanted to thank the agencies involved, including the police, the SAF, the BCA and the Housing Board.
He said the evacuation of residents went smoothly as they left their homes on time and cooperated with the police. He had been worried about traffic jams, but it was managed effectively by the police.
He said: “At the community level, you can see we’ve actually over-prepared, because we were not sure exactly how many people would need additional help. But we thought it’s better to over-prepare than under-prepare.”
He noted that as it was a work day, most people had gone to work, while students were at school and proceeding with their lives, as they should.
Dr Balakrishnan said the authorities were focused on the vulnerable, and had to make arrangements for the bedridden to have access to daycare.
He said there were facilities in Bukit Panjang and the wheelchair-bound were tended to at the CC.
He was very pleased at how the community supported one another.
“I am happy with the way the community has responded, the calmness and composure of our people and, of course, the professionalism of our agencies. So, a big thank you to everyone,” he said.
He added: “Singapore is a well-organised, calm, composed place where when things happen, we are able to respond effectively. And because there’s that trust and cooperation and that sense of looking out for each other, it makes things so much easier.
“It’s another aspect of that strong Singapore spirit. So, a lot to be thankful for.”
