WWII-Era Bomb Explodes In Asia Killing 5

Did you know thousands of bombs and mortars from WWII that failed to detonate when initially deployed are currently buried all across the world?

Unfortunately, residents in Indonesia discovered this grim reality in a tragic way.

On Monday, a suspected WWII-era bomb exploded under a house in the eastern Papua region of Indonesia.

The blasts resulted in 5 people being killed and over a dozen being injured.

CBS News reported more on the explosion:

A suspected shell left over from World War II exploded under a stilt house in an Indonesian fishing village, killing five people and wounding nearly 20, police said Monday.

The blast in Indonesia’s restive eastern Papua region startled locals with a thunderous boom on Sunday afternoon, emitting a ball of flames followed by a thick smoke column, according to footage broadcast on Kompas TV.

Nine homes were destroyed.

“The source of the explosion is strongly suspected to have been a bomb or mortar left over from World War II,” Papua police spokesman Cahyo Sukarnito told AFP.

Three people are still recorded as missing, but Cahyo said several body parts have yet to be identified.

At least 19 people were treated for minor injuries, he added.

“We will provide further updates once the search for victims and the investigation have been completed,” said Cahyo.

The explosion was caught on video:

CCTV footage from Pelabuhan Biak shows the moment a suspected World War II bomb exploded in Biak Numfor Regency, Papua, Indonesia.

LATEST UPDATE: Five people killed, and three others remain missing. pic.twitter.com/1JYk1nAQfh

— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) May 31, 2026

Earlier in the year, a WWII-era bomb was discovered in the U.K., resulting in an evacuation of an entire neighborhood.

BBC reported more on the evacuation:

A controlled detonation has been carried out on a large World War Two bomb found at a building site.

More than 1,200 homes were evacuated in the Southway area of Plymouth after the device was found on Wednesday and a 400m (1,300ft) exclusion zone was put in place.

Plymouth City Council said the operation to make the 250kg (551lbs) German bomb safe started at 08:15 BST, with people in the area saying they heard “loud thuds” during the morning.

At 11:20, the council said the bomb – confirmed to be a German SC250 air-dropped bomb – had been “made safe”, but the cordon remained in place until 13:45 while safety inspections were conducted.

In 2024, a similar evacuation occurred after a WWII-era bomb was discovered at another site in Plymouth:

A World War II-era bomb whose discovery prompted one of the largest peacetime evacuations in British history has been detonated at sea, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.

Read more: https://t.co/u1lq63drUk pic.twitter.com/P9EJwjDaYT

— ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2024