WWII bombs cache found in Talisay City

BACOLOD CITY — A cache of 100 vintage bombs and 100 kilos of ammunition from World War II has been found hidden in a foxhole at the foot of Mt. Mandalagan in Talisay City, 7.3 kilometers north of this capital city, last Thursday, authorities said.

Scavengers looking for scrap metal stumbled upon the explosives in Barangay Katilingban. A team of bomb disposal experts was on its way to the place, Talisay Mayor Eric Saratan said.

Heavy rains washed out soil from the foxhole, exposing the rusty bombs described as the size of beer bottles.

The bomb disposal team will also check whether the bombs came from Japanese or American forces which battled each other on these islands in World War II, Saratan said.

Superintendent Charles Calima Jr., Negros Occidental police director, said it is dangerous to transport the vintage bombs since they might explode if they come in contact with other materials.

He said it is safe to dispose of the bombs in the site which is far from any residential area.

Earlier, laborers also discovered vintage bombs during the construction of the Silay City airport, the site of which used to be an airfield of Japanese forces during World War II. — With AFP