CCTV shows buried WW2 bomb exploding on airport taxiway minutes after plane passes - leaving 3ft deep crater

CCTV shows the moment a US bomb, most likely dropped during World War II to stem ‘Kamikaze’ attacks, exploded on an airport taxiway - causing nearly 90 flight cancellations.

Miyazaki Airport in Japan shut its runway on October 2 after the explosion, which happened just two minutes after a passenger plane passed by the area, caused a 23 feet wide and nearly three feet deep crater in the middle of the taxiway next to the runway, according to a Japanese transport ministry official.

A bomb disposal team from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force found that the cause of the explosion was an American bomb that had been buried beneath the land surface, probably dating to a wartime air raid, the official said. The runway shutdown led to the grounding of at least 87 flights, but there is no danger of any further explosions, said Japan’s top government spokesperson, Yoshimasa Hayashi.

The affected flights were operated by JAL, ANA and other airlines connecting Miyazaki with cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, according to the airport website. Located at the southeast end of Kyushu island, Miyazaki Airport was formerly a Japanese navy base until the end of World War II, from where hundreds of young ‘kamikaze’ pilots set off on their final missions, according to the Miyazaki city website.

Multiple unexploded bombs have previously been found at Miyazaki Airport, the transport ministry official said. More than 79 years since the end of the war, unexploded bombs from the intense airstrikes are still found across Japan today. No injuries have been reported.