World War II Bomb Once Found in Tambun

Looking back at an event that will never be forgotten by residents around the Tambun area, especially those near Sungai Pinji.

For your information, on June 17, 2008, a bomb was discovered by the public in Sungai Pinji, Tambun, which shocked local residents as they lived only a few hundred meters from where the bomb was buried in the river. For your knowledge, the bomb weighed 200 kilograms, and information suggests that the bomb discovered was British-made in 1945. It is also said that the bomb had a lethal radius of up to 300 meters.

It is understood that the bomb was dropped by the British military to blow up the bridge connecting Ipoh city to Tambun town. This was said to be one of the British efforts aimed at recapturing Malaya from the grip of the Japanese military. Unfortunately, among the bombs dropped, some did not explode and simply sank into the river mud. Because the bomb found was still live and extremely dangerous to move, approximately 5,000 residents had to evacuate their homes for safety and as a precautionary measure, as well as to facilitate the authorities in conducting the bomb disposal operation. Among those affected were residents of Taman Tambun, Taman Tambun Jaya, Kampung Baru Tambun, and Kampung Malay Rezab. It was the best course of action for local residents to follow to prevent any untoward incidents. To safely carry out the disposal of this old bomb, a sand barrier four meters high and 25 square meters in size was built using 10,000 sandbags to prevent the blast from spreading.

The bomb was detonated twice. This was because the first attempt to detonate it failed, and 47 minutes after the first attempt, the 200-kilogram bomb was successfully detonated on the second try. The police also managed to retrieve a one-meter-long bomb casing that had split in two from the base of the sand barrier. It is said that the bomb fragments are now kept at the Tambun Police Station, Ipoh.