Construction workers made an explosive discovery Wednesday morning at the Port of Long Beach in California.
The crew was digging at a shipping container terminal at Pier G when they uncovered a World War II-era bomb, according to the Long Beach Post.
Getting the dangerous situation under control required a joint effort.
First, the Long Beach Police Department and the U.S. Coast Guard evacuated the area, according to KCAL-TV in Los Angeles.
Then, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad examined the shell before calling the U.S. Marine Corps.
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Possible WWII explosives found at the Port of Long Beach pic.twitter.com/SYMM4eKq1U
— OC Scanner ???????? ???????? (@OC_Scanner) October 9, 2025
Although the bomb was still armed, the Marines determined it was safe to transport to a safe location, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The device was “neutralized” off site, and cargo operations resumed that night.
The U.S. Marine Corps helped Los Angeles County deputies clear a WWII-era explosive from a construction site at the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday. Port officials said construction workers found the shell in one of the container terminals and called law pic.twitter.com/0uQM234Zwu
— Notinregs (@notinregs) October 10, 2025
Before it was a shipping container hub, the Port of Long Beach was a U.S. Navy base, operating from 1919 to 1997, according to the Long Beach Post.
It was once home to numerous battle and support ships, along with two aircraft carriers.
A similar bomb situation occurred in Hong Kong last month.
Construction workers discovered a live World War II-era shell, courtesy of the United States.
The crew discovered the 1,000-pound bomb in Quarry Bay, where many Chinese citizens work and reside.
Thousands had to evacuate the area.
Bomb disposal Police in Hong Kong defused a 1,000lb US-made WW2 bomb discovered by construction workers on a building sit over the weekend, prompting the evacuation of some 6,000 residents in the Quarry Bay area.
Police said unexploded munitions are occasionally found in Hong… pic.twitter.com/tuQJJyIWVm
— Mr Pål Christiansen (@TheNorskaPaul) September 23, 2025
“We have confirmed this object to be a bomb dating back to World War II,” police spokesman Andy Chan Tin-Chu told reporters, before describing “the exceptionally high risks associated with its disposal.”
After an operation that began late on Friday, Sept. 19, technicians successfully disarmed the 5-foot-long bomb the next morning.
Nobody was injured during the ordeal.
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