WW2 BOMB FOUND NEAR FAMOUS GOLD BARS CAVERN IN VIZCAYA

BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya: Police bomb experts confirmed the discovery of a World War 2 vintage bomb by construction workers in a Christian school compound here, also believed to be where Japanese gold bars were hidden. The bomb in its original condition was first discovered on Wednesday afternoon by a backhoe operator in a construction site at the King’s College of the Philippines (KCP) compound in Barangay Magsaysay Hills. Chief Insp. Villegas Claveria, town police chief, said the bomb which is 1.5 meters in length and weighs 1,102.31 pounds can really cause huge damage on lives and properties if it exploded. “The bomb could totally destroy the school building near the place where the bomb was found if improperly disposed,” Claveria, who is also a bomb expert, said. He said the bomb is bigger but similar to an M43/64 bomb aimed by American soldiers at a former Japanese Imperial Army garrison during the second world war. It is believed that some 175 Japanese chief engineers and two hundred slave laborers were buried alive inside a tunner near Barangay Tophill (now Barangay Magsaysay Hills) during the June 1, 1945 farewell party. The tunnel was described in a book titled Gold Warriors by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave as the Tunnel 8 located at the Tophill village which was connected to Tunnel 9 and Bambang town’s old cemetery. Seagrave’s book claims the tunnels were packed with gold bars owned by Japanese Prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi.