4 Dec 2011

German city evacuated as WWII bomb defused

Firefighters say a massive British World War II-era bomb that triggered the evacuation of half of Germany’s western city of Koblenz has been successfully defused.

The Second World War bomb was found in the Rhine River (Getty)

A spokesman said experts were able to defuse the 1.8 ton bomb and a 275-pound US bomb that had been discovered last month in the Rhine river.

The evacuation order still remains in place because a smaller smoke grenade found nearby will be brought to a controlled explosion.

Around 45,000 residents living within a radius of about 1.2 miles from the bomb site had to leave their homes Sunday in what was one of Germany’s biggest bomb-related evacuations since the war ended.

About 2,500 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were on duty across the city to secure the operation.

Authorities set up shelters in parts of Koblenz farther away from the bomb site, and shuttle buses were on hand in the morning to carry residents to safety.

“It feels a bit strange,” said one evacuee at a Red Cross shelter, earlier on Sunday.

“I left home, closed all windows and let down the roller shutters. I’m hoping that everything will go well and that we can return this afternoon.”

Damage would have been ‘massive’

The bomb could have caused massive damage if it exploded.

It was found last week alongside the US bomb and the smoke grenade after the Rhine’s water level fell significantly due to a prolonged lack of rain.

Finding unexploded bombs dropped by the Allies over Germany is common even more than 65 years after the war’s end.

The explosives are usually defused or brought to a controlled explosion without causing injuries.

Officials had built a dam of hundreds of sand bags around the bomb site in the river bed to pump water out in preparation for the delicate task.

Seven nursing homes, two hospitals and a prison with some 200 inmates in Koblenz were also evacuated.

Residents were advised by the city via leaflets and radio transmissions to close their houses and apartments, and shut their windows and shutters.

Several hundred city officials went from door-to-door on Sunday morning, ringing the bells to check whether any residents had failed to evacuate the area.