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Police in Solomon Islands say a large explosion that rocked the nation's capital overnight was caused by an old World War II bomb. One person was injured when the bomb exploded near the rugby stadium in West Honiara. A young man is in a stable condition in hospital with arm injuries, according to local media. Robert Iroga, the publisher of Solomon Business Magazine Online, lives near the site of the explosion and witnessed the blast. "It was around 6:30pm yesterday when a huge boom exploded just opposite the rugby stadium and it caused a lot of panic," he told the ABC. "It was shocking and very frightening." The country is littered with unexploded ordnance left by Allied and Japanese forces after the Second World War. Mr Iroga spoke to people at the scene and believed a burning tree caused the bomb to explode. "The fire had been burning for the last few days, all the way to the root of the tree and the ground with the bomb," he said. Stalls selling market goods such as bitter nuts were close to where the bomb exploded. Mr Iroga said it was not an isolated incident and referred to a deadly blast in 2021. Locals live with the risk of explosions in some areas. "Experts have spoken against people lighting big fires because it might cause the bombs to explode," Mr Iroga said. Thousands of items of unexploded ordnance are believed to remain scattered around Solomon Islands and other Pacific nations. During World War II large shipments of grenades, ammunition and land mines were brought into the region. Following Japan's withdrawal from Guadalcanal in 1943, tonnes of munitions were left behind. Australia, New Zealand and the United States, in partnership with non-government organisation Norwegian People's Aid, have worked to clear unexploded bombs in the Solomon Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific.
