By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : Some 4,000 people living in the northern Tambun town in Malaysia’s Perak province have been told to evacuate their homes while a bomb disposal unit attempts to detonate a live 1,000-pound bomb found in a nearby river, reports said Friday.
A fisherman discovered the bomb, believed to have been dropped during World War II, last week, prompting police to block roads leading to the area.
Residents living and working within a 500-metre radius of the bomb have been told to evacuate their homes by early Saturday, when a bomb disposal unit is due to destroy the relic, said district police chief Azisman Alias.
“They can return when the area is declared safe,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.
“If we have to, we will use force to ensure that the residents leave the area.
“We don’t want to take any risks,” he said.
Azisman said the live bomb could not be moved and had to be destroyed on the spot.
More than 200 police officers will be deployed to the area during the procedure, he said.