Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian police bomb squad safely detonated a live 430-kilogram bomb that was found on a university campus in the northern state of Perlis, news reports said Friday.

A heavy machinery operator discovered the bomb, believed to have been dropped during World War II, on Thursday, prompting police to block roads leading to the area, the Bernama news agency reported.

Residents living and working within 2-kilometre radius of the bomb were told to evacuate before the detonation was carried out, district police chief Zainuddin Che Engku Chik said, adding that 3.5 kilograms of plastic explosives were used in the operation.

The owner of a house 700 metres from the bomb site was planning to lodge a police report after her residence was damaged in the blast. (dpa)