Luv2Roam
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2000
Old Bombs Found at Asia Disney Site
Sun Nov 17,10:57 AM ET
By HELEN LUK, Associated Press Writer
HONG KONG (AP) - Nearly 200 bombs and artillery shells dumped offshore by the British military decades ago have been removed from the site of a Disney theme park being built on dredged land, officials said Sunday.
None of the 183 bombs exploded, and most were rusted or without fuses and did not pose any danger, said Anthony Li, a senior government engineer. Their removal was not expected to delay construction of the park, scheduled to open by 2006.
The British army dumped old bombs in the waters off Hong Kong ? a former British colony ? from the 1950s until the 1970s, apparently never thinking that someday dredging crews would be working in the same areas.
Authorities frequently find bombs in areas of Hong Kong that were hit by Allied air raids during World War II, when the city was occupied by the Japanese military, but police have acknowledged that the number of bombs found during the Disney dredging seemed a bit on the high side.
"Our track record has been very satisfactory. There has been no explosion and we have done effective scanning of the area," Li said. "There's no need to worry."
Despite the government's reassurance, many workers at the site have expressed worries about their safety, a Chinese-language newspaper reported Sunday.
The Oriental Daily News showed pictures of notices posted at the construction site instructing workers on how to handle suspicious items if they were detected.
Li said that even if some bombs go undetected, they would be so small and buried so deep that the chance of explosion would be unlikely.
Disney spokeswoman Irene Chan said the company would follow advice from bomb specialists to ensure the site is hazard-free.
"We believe it won't delay the construction," she said.
The Hong Kong Disney park is scheduled to be built by 2006, on a reclaimed area called Penny's Bay in outlying Lantau Island. It is a joint venture between the government and the Walt Disney Co., based in Burbank, California.
Sun Nov 17,10:57 AM ET
By HELEN LUK, Associated Press Writer
HONG KONG (AP) - Nearly 200 bombs and artillery shells dumped offshore by the British military decades ago have been removed from the site of a Disney theme park being built on dredged land, officials said Sunday.
None of the 183 bombs exploded, and most were rusted or without fuses and did not pose any danger, said Anthony Li, a senior government engineer. Their removal was not expected to delay construction of the park, scheduled to open by 2006.
The British army dumped old bombs in the waters off Hong Kong ? a former British colony ? from the 1950s until the 1970s, apparently never thinking that someday dredging crews would be working in the same areas.
Authorities frequently find bombs in areas of Hong Kong that were hit by Allied air raids during World War II, when the city was occupied by the Japanese military, but police have acknowledged that the number of bombs found during the Disney dredging seemed a bit on the high side.
"Our track record has been very satisfactory. There has been no explosion and we have done effective scanning of the area," Li said. "There's no need to worry."
Despite the government's reassurance, many workers at the site have expressed worries about their safety, a Chinese-language newspaper reported Sunday.
The Oriental Daily News showed pictures of notices posted at the construction site instructing workers on how to handle suspicious items if they were detected.
Li said that even if some bombs go undetected, they would be so small and buried so deep that the chance of explosion would be unlikely.
Disney spokeswoman Irene Chan said the company would follow advice from bomb specialists to ensure the site is hazard-free.
"We believe it won't delay the construction," she said.
The Hong Kong Disney park is scheduled to be built by 2006, on a reclaimed area called Penny's Bay in outlying Lantau Island. It is a joint venture between the government and the Walt Disney Co., based in Burbank, California.
