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Hong Kong police on Saturday defused a wartime grenade at a French fries factory after discovering the explosive in a batch of fresh potatoes imported from France.
The device was allegedly buried in a field where trenches had been dug during the First World War, and then accidentally discovered with potatoes harvested, packaged and shipped to Hong Kong.
Officers said the pomegranate was about 8 cm wide and was discovered around 9 am by the Calbee factory staff in the Tseung Kwan O industrial complex. It weighed about a kilo .
"We identified it as a German-made weapon that would have been used during the First World War," said Wong Ho-Hon, deputy commander of Tseung Kwan O District (operations).
"We chose to disarm it because it did not explode when it was launched. It was therefore urgent to do so. We did it using a technique of cooking with high pressure water. "
The pomegranate was detected by one of the plant's potato processing machines.
"It was likely that it was shipped from France with the potato lots because we found it covered with mud and dirt," added Wong.
Firefighters and demining officers cordoned off the area during their operation.
Around 12:45, the pomegranate was successfully defused. No injuries were reported.
the To post contacted the Calbee Four Seas Company for comments, but did not receive an answer in time.
According to military historian Dave Macri, the field in which the potatoes were harvested would contain a trench during the First World War.
Why does Hong Kong have so many bombs buried during the war?
"If it were covered with mud, the grenade would probably have been left behind, dropped by soldiers there during the war or left there after its launch. [by enemies].
The ditch was then filled and used as a growing field, and the explosive was thrown into the potato mixture harvested … and sent to Hong Kong. "
The professor at the University of Hong Kong said that the grenade could still be dangerous even if it was not triggered. "If you stand near you, within five meters, you could be injured or even killed [if the device somehow went off]but it's not the kind of thing that can destroy an entire building.
"But there is a chance that the weapon will never be armed, because to turn it on, you have to remove the safety pin and release a lever. And since it did not go out, it probably never was triggered, "added Macri.
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