China on Tuesday claimed to have unearthed a large cache of explosives, abandoned by Japanese troops during World War II, from the base of a hill in Dunhua City in northeast China's Jilin Province.

The 3,500 bombs, still lethal and weighing more than 40 tonnes, were found buried in a rectangular pit at the foot of the hill in Dunhua's Shaheyan Township, which was once the site of a Japanese military airport, police said.

The bombs were discovered by three local farmers from Daqiao Township on June 3 using a metal detector to find scrap iron left by the Japanese troops, which they hoped to sell for money, the police said.