HILO — An adventurer in Hawaii found two suspected unexploded military bombs while hiking on the Big Island.
Kona resident and adventure television host Kawika Singson discovered the bombs while exploring the lava fields of Mauna Loa last week, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Saturday. Singson is the host of “Everything Hawaii."
He had “no particular agenda other than being out there and hiking," Singson said.
Singson saw the back end of the bomb sticking out of the lava, and when he entered the tube he saw the front end protruding through the ceiling, he said.
“Oh my god, that bomb’s intact," he recalled thinking before taking photos and video, “then I got out of there, got out of the immediate area."
Singson worked with explosives while serving in the military and knew the history of bombing runs during the volcano's 1935 eruption from a previous episode of his show, he said.
“These bombs were dropped on either the 1935 or 1942 lava flows in an attempt to divert the lava flow from possibly flowing into Hilo,” Singson said in a Facebook post. He believes larger bombs were used during flows in 1975 and 1976.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources confirmed Friday that the department’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement was aware of the situation and has been in contact with Singson.
The department is coordinating with the Division of Forestry and Wildlife to dispose of the unexploded devices, and has been in contact with the military for support, officials said.
