KOKOPO: An “armed and dangerous” World War II bomb was dug up and defused on Thursday on the small Pacific island of Nauru, the country’s police force said.

Schools were closed and Nauru’s 12,000 residents were urged to stay at home as Australian military specialists worked on the 500-pound (227-kilogram) explosive, which was first discovered almost two weeks ago.

Nauru’s government declared a state of emergency across the island on Thursday morning, evacuating all houses within two kilometres of the bomb. Police later said the device had been “disarmed and moved to a safe location for disposal”.

A team of Australian bomb disposal experts were dispatched to Nauru to help, digging deep trenches and filling hulking containers with sand to absorb any explosion.

“The item is extremely dangerous so our key concern has been the safety of the people of Nauru as well as the vital infrastructure that supplies water and power that is in the immediate vicinity,” Australian lieutenant Jordan Bell said ahead of the operation. The island micro­state is one of the world’s smallest countries and lies about 4,000 kilometres northeast of Sydney. It was occupied by Japanese troops between 1942 and 1945.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023