RANCHI: Indian Army personnel on Wednesday successfully defused two suspected World War II-era bombs recovered along the Subarnarekha River near Panipara–Nagudsaai under Baharagora block of Jharkhand's Jamshedpur.
The recovered explosives were identified as a US-made aerial bomb marked ‘AN-M64 500 lb’. The first bomb was recovered on March 17, then again, another one was recovered from a nearby place on Monday.
The bomb was defused by a six-member Bomb Disposal Squad from the Army's 51 Engineer Regiment, based in Ranchi, which had taken control of the area after the recovery of the first bomb on March 17.
The team was led by Lieutenant Colonel Dharmendra Singh and Captain Ayush Kumar Singh.
The team also comprised Naib Subedar Anand Swarup Singh, Havildar Kanwaldeep Singh, Havildar Dalbir Singh, Naik CAS Nautiyal, Lance Naik Manoj, and Sapper Pankaj.
Before diffusing the bombs, the team conducted a meticulous study of the bomb's position, the surrounding geographical terrain and the flow of the river.
Then, a specialised pit approximately 10 feet deep was dug into the ground to ensure that the impact of any potential explosion would be confined underground.
The bomb was then placed inside this pit and encased within a robust perimeter of sand-filled gunny bags. The team set up its operations center at a distance of one kilometre from the site.
During this process, villages located within a one-kilometer radius were evacuated. As soon as the bomb was successfully defused, the villagers hailed the Indian Army.
Notably, given the gravity of the bomb, an area within a one-kilometre radius of the incident site was completely sealed off and movement of civilians near the site was completely banned.
Additionally, flight operations from the nearby Kalaikunda Air Force Station were temporarily suspended. The team had tightened security measures across the entire spectrum—from the ground to the skies.
Though, there is no official confirmation, experts believe these bombs dates back to the Second World War. Investigating agencies are working to determine how the bomb ended up here and how long it had remained buried underground.