The century-old grenade was still functional and Hong Kong police had to quickly detonate the device in an abandoned alley.
Hong Kong Police ForceThe grenade , mid - plosion , in a Hong Kong skittle alley .
The automatize machinery in a white potato chip manufactory in Hong Kong was ineffectual to process one special stump spud and overseers speedily realized why : somehow , a German - made World War I hand grenade hadfound its wayinto the company ’s provision payload .
The century - old equipment had a rusty , clay - comprehend exterior , with its entrails still very much capable of causing a unsafe blast . ramp up for Germany ’s combat efforts in the Great War , the grenade was reportedly harvested alongside spud in France and shipped to Hong Kong ’s Calbee Four Seas Company with the rest of the vegetable .
Hong Kong Police ForceThe grenade, mid-explosion, in a Hong Kong alley.
The Hong Kong Police Force quickly deemed the twist in an unstable condition and resorted to a “ high-pitched - air pressure water firing proficiency ” to safely explode the century - old grenade in a cloaca grate in an empty back street , The New York Timesreported .
Exclusive!We detonated a German made WW1 hand grenade earlier this afternoon .
獨家！拆彈專家 💣 較早時間引爆了一枚第一次世界大戰時德國製的手榴彈。#HongKong#Police#Emergency#safeguarding#EODpic.twitter.com / xc1KxsZwjK
Wikimedia CommonsA British 1.8-ton WWII mine found in Koblenz, Germany, 2011.
— Hong Kong Police Force ( @hkpoliceforce)February 2 , 2019
“ Since the grenade had not blown up at the clock time it was throw , there was an immediate danger that needed to be handled right out , ” said Superintendent Wong Ho - hon .
The 2.2 - pound volatile warfare gadget , while nearly five - times as heavy as a Irish potato , was sure as shooting tight enough in size of it to a spud as to be by chance include in the harvest .
Cities in country across the continent unearth undetonated bomb and volatile machine from the Great War to this Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . “ Many hand grenades are depart behind during bombardments when an entire trench is inhume , ” explain Kwong Chi - Man , a military historiographer and assistant professor of history at Hong Kong Baptist University .
Wikimedia CommonsA British 1.8 - long ton WWII mine incur in Koblenz , Germany , 2011 .
Recently , the Hong Kong Police Force itself defused three 1,000 - pound American - made turkey from World War II . yard had to be evacuate that night as the twist was discovered at a construction site in Wan Chai , a busy residential domain .
“ It does n’t matter how old these things are , they can still be a threat , ” said Franco David Macri , a senior research buster in the history section at Hong Kong University .
As for this especial chip manufacturing plant and its surprising interruption of yield on Saturday , the police were able to safely detonate the discovered gadget and prevent any injury or hurt . How the Calbee Four Seas Company deal to miss such a glaringly dangerous faux - potato in its thick is unclear , though the betting odds of routinely finding explosives amidst potato shipments are admittedly highly unlikely .
“ I do n’t get laid what mechanically skillful have in mind the plant practice to scoop up the white potato , but I imagine they do n’t routinely run magnet detectors through tater , ” said Macri .
Fortunately , the century - old hand grenade was safely put to rest .
After read about this grenade find , study abouta Russian flair who rip the pin on a live grenadeThen , see some ofthe most powerful persona from World War 1 .
