Residents of Kordelio district are seen aboard a bus after authorities ordered the evacuation of the area in order to defuse a 500-pound unexploded World War II bomb, in Thessaloniki, Greece Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Bomb disposal experts are to tackle the device, found buried beneath a gas station, on Sunday in an operation expected to last about six hours, with all residents in a nearly 2-kilometer radius being evacuated.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Albany Times Union. </s> Technicians worked for hours Sunday to successfully defuse a World War II-era bomb that had been lying dormant under the bustling streets of Frankfurt for some seven decades.

The 4,000 pound bomb was discovered Tuesday at a construction site for Goethe University faculty buildings, reports The New York Times. It is believed to have been dropped by the British Royal Air Force.

Everybody within a mile radius of the bomb had to leave Sunday morning, leading to an evacuation of more than 60,000 people.

The BBC says it was the largest evacuation in Germany since the end of World War II. Experts warned that if the bomb accidentally went off, it would be powerful enough to flatten an entire street.

There were no exceptions to the rule: everybody had to clear out, including those inside hospitals, nursing homes and Germany's central bank.

Premature babies and ICU patients were among those who got out, says the BBC.

For those who opted not to go far, the city opened its convention center and museums offered free entry.

Police used a heat-sensitive camera to ensure nobody remained before experts went to work defusing the 2-ton bomb, reports The Times.

It was a job that has been done many times over; on average about 2,000 tons of unexploded ordnance are found every year across the country, reports the BBC. Every couple of weeks, Germany's bomb-disposal unit disables a bomb and says the work should last for years to come.

There are believed to still be hundreds of thousands of unexploded bombs dropped during WW II remaining throughout Germany.

The Two-Way reported in May that 50,000 people had to evacuate the German city of Hanover while experts defused three British bombs.



Millions of tons of bombs were dropped over the course of the war, many of which never went off. And so, cities were rebuilt and life went on over ordnance that is still able to wreak havoc. About a dozen bomb technicians have been killed in Germany since 2000, reports Smithsonian Magazine. And the danger may be getting worse. (NPR's) Soraya (Sarhaddi Nelson) says, "Undetonated World War II bombs, of which there are thousands still buried around Germany, are becoming more dangerous with time because of components breaking down."



Just a day before Frankfurt's evacuation, around 21,000 residents had to leave their homes in the western city of Koblenz, while a 1,100-pound American bomb was defused.

Frankfurt Police called the bomb defused Sunday, "the defeated beast" and tweeted images of it being loaded onto a truck and driven away.

City officials said residents of the evacuated neighborhood should be allowed to return to their homes by 8:00 p.m. local time. </s> Bomb disposal experts have successfully defused a huge Second World War bomb in the German financial capital Frankfurt that forced the evacuation of more than 60,000 residents, police said.

Hospital patients and the elderly were among those affected in what was Germany's biggest evacuation in recent history.

Similar operations are still common 72 years after the war ended. About 20,000 people were evacuated from the western city of Koblenz before specialists disarmed a 1,100lb US bomb on Saturday.

Officials ordered residents to evacuate their homes within a mile radius of the site in Germany's financial capital.

Dozens of ambulances lined up early Sunday to pick up anyone unable to independently leave the danger zone. </s> THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A massive evacuation has begun in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki so experts can defuse a 500-pound unexploded World War II bomb.

Police went house-to-house Sunday morning, ringing bells and knocking on doors to remind people living within a 1.9-kilometer (1.18-mile) radius of the bomb site to leave their homes. Most were leaving in their cars, but some were being transported by bus to schools, sports halls and cultural centers elsewhere in the city, where they can get food and shelter.

Authorities believe about 75,000 people will be evacuated, most from the western suburb of Kordelio. A state of emergency has been declared in the area involved and about 1,000 police and 300 volunteers are helping in the evacuation. Trains have been halted in the area and church services cancelled.

Residents of Kordelio district are seen aboard a bus after authorities ordered the evacuation of the area in order to defuse a 500-pound unexploded World War II bomb, in Thessaloniki, Greece Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Bomb disposal experts are to tackle the device, found buried beneath a gas station, on Sunday in an operation expected to last about six hours, with all residents in a nearly 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) radius being evacuated. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

The bomb, dropped during an air raid in the 1940s, was found earlier this month during work to expand storage tanks under a gas station. Defusing it is expected to take about six hours.

"It's the first time something like this is happening in Greece," Thessaloniki Deputy Governor Voula Patoulidou told The Associated Press.

Residents of Kordelio district board a taxi after authorities ordered the evacuation of the area in order to defuse a 500-pound unexploded World War II bomb, in Thessaloniki, Greece Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Bomb disposal experts are to tackle the device, found buried beneath a gas station, on Sunday in an operation expected to last about six hours, with all residents in a nearly 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) radius being evacuated. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Residents of Kordelio district board a bus after authorities ordered the evacuation of the area in order to defuse a 500-pound unexploded World War II bomb, in Thessaloniki, Greece Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. Bomb disposal experts are to tackle the device, found buried beneath a gas station, on Sunday in an operation expected to last about six hours, with all residents in a nearly 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) radius being evacuated. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Experts check the location where an unexploded World War II bomb was found 5 meters (over 16 feet) deep, at a gas station in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2016. Authorities in Greece's second-largest city on Sunday are planning to evacuate up to 60,000 residents from their homes so experts can safely dispose of the unexploded World War II bomb. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

An employee of a gas station checks the location where an unexploded World War II bomb was found 5 meters (over 16 feet) deep, in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2016. Authorities in Greece's second-largest city on Sunday are planning to evacuate up to 60,000 residents from their homes so experts can safely dispose of the unexploded World War II bomb. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos) </s> Police said bomb disposal experts have successfully defused a huge World War II-era bomb in the German financial capital Frankfurt that forced the evacuation of more than 60,000 residents.

Hospital patients and the elderly were among those affected in what was Germany’s biggest evacuation in recent history.

Similar operations are still common 72 years after the war ended. About 20,000 people were evacuated from the western city of Koblenz before specialists disarmed a 500-kilogram US bomb on Saturday.

Construction workers found the 1.8-ton (4,000-pound) British bomb on Tuesday. Officials ordered residents to evacuate homes within a 1.5-kilometer (nearly a mile) radius of the site in Germany’s financial capital.

Dozens of ambulances lined up early on Sunday to pick up anyone unable to independently leave the danger zone. </s> Police officers check if the residents have left the evacuation area in Frankfurt. Pic/AFP

German explosives experts started to defuse a massive World War Two bomb in Frankfurt on Sunday after tens of thousands of people evacuated their homes.

The bomb was discovered on a building site last week and around 60,000 people were ordered to leave their residences in what was Germany's biggest evacuation since the war.

The work by bomb technicians started later than planned as some people refused to leave the evacuation area despite fire chiefs warning that an uncontrolled explosion would be big enough to flatten a city block. More than a thousand emergency service workers helped to clear the area and people filed into a temporary shelter at Frankfurt's trade fair site.

The evacuation area includes Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, where $70 billion in gold reserves are stored. Police set up cordons around the evacuation area.

Defusing the bomb

Bomb disposal experts were set to use a special system to try and unscrew the fuses attached to the bomb from a safe distance. If that fails, a water jet will be used to cut the fuses.

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Tonnes of live bombs and munitions found each year in Germany </s> A handout photo shows a bomb defusing team pose next to a 500-kilogram World War II bomb near the main train station in Berlin. Picture: Reuters

Berlin - Bomb disposal experts have defused a 500 kilogram World War II British bomb in the centre of Berlin, police have said.

Experts were able within a short space of time to remove the fuse from the bomb and make it safe, a police spokesman said on Friday.

Before they could start, 10 000 people had to be cleared from a 800-metre-radius exclusion zone near the capital's central rail station, which was completely closed during the operation.

Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said 300,000 passengers use the station daily and 1,300 people who work there had to leave their posts. "We have never had a comparable situation to this degree," a spokesman said.

Several government ministries, the German Intelligence Service, a courthouse and the Museum for Contemporary Art fall within the zone and were closed. Two hospitals had to be partially cleared.

Police went through the streets with loudhailers, knocked on doors and rung bells, urging people to evacuate.

Police later told local residents they could return to their homes.

The operation was peaceful and harmonious, a police spokeswoman said. Via Twitter, the police thanked all public transport passengers for their understanding and wished them "a good onward journey hopefully soon."

Public transport in the area had been completely shut down while the bomb was disposed of. Deutsche Bahn said local services could return to normal quite quickly, but it would take some time for long-distance trains to get back on schedule.

Flights were not disrupted, but public transport to the airport was.

Undetonated World War II bombs are frequently discovered in Germany, especially during construction projects, prompting disposal operations that often involve large-scale evacuations.

Until the end of the war in 1945, there were 380 air raids by the US, British and Russian air forces on Berlin. Historians estimate that 45,000 tons of explosives were dropped on the capital.

The city administration estimates there are still some 3 000 bombs, grenades and ammunition remnants buried under the city. </s> German explosives experts defused a massive World War Two bomb in the financial capital of Frankfurt on Sunday after tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes.

The compulsory evacuation of 60,000 people was Germany's biggest such manoeuvre since the war, with more than a thousand emergency service workers helping to clear the area around the bomb, which was discovered on a building site last week.

The evacuation area included two hospitals, care homes, the Opera House and Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, where $70-billion in gold reserves are stored underground. Police maintained security at the building.

The all-day effort took longer than planned but officials expressed relief that residents would start returning home before sundown and that the operation wouldn't disrupt business on Monday.

The work by bomb technicians started later than scheduled because some residents refused to leave the evacuation area despite fire chiefs warning that an uncontrolled explosion would be big enough to flatten a city block. Police said they took stragglers into custody to secure the area.

More than 2,000 tonnes of live bombs and munitions are discovered each year in Germany, more than 70 years after the end of the war.

British and American warplanes pummelled the country with 1.5 million tonnes of bombs that killed 600,000 people. Officials estimate that 15 per cent of the bombs failed to explode, some burrowing six metres (20 feet) deep.

Residents were instructed to leave their homes by 8 a.m. local time [0600 GMT], and more than a thousand emergency service workers helped to clear the area. Police set up cordons at a 1.5 km (roughly a mile) radius around the device.

Many residents left town. Others spent time in cafes on the edge of the evacuation zone. Museums were free, and many hotels offered discounts. The city set up a temporary shelter at Frankfurt's trade fair site, serving bananas and beverages.

The device was found last week in the city's leafy Westend neighbourhood, home to many wealthy bankers.

Premature babies and intensive care patients had to be evacuated along with everyone else from two hospitals and rescue workers helped about 500 elderly people leave residences and care homes.

Bomb disposal experts used a special system to try and unscrew the fuses attached to the HC 4,000 bomb from a safe distance. If that had failed, a water jet would have been used to cut the fuses.

The bomb was dropped by Britain's Royal Air Force during the 1939-45 war, city officials said.

In July, a kindergarten was evacuated after teachers discovered an unexploded World War Two bomb on a shelf among some toys.

Three police explosives experts in Goettingen were killed in 2010 while preparing to defuse a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb. </s> LONDON—All flights in and out of London City Airport were cancelled Monday after a 1,100-pound unexploded World War II-era bomb was found nearby in the River Thames.

The Metropolitan Police service cleared an area within 214 metres of the bomb, including several residential streets, as officers worked with specialists from the Royal Navy to remove the device.

Police said the bomb was discovered Sunday at the George V Dock during pre-planned work at City Airport. They described it as a 1.5-meter shell that was lying in a bed of dense silt.

“The first stage of the removal operation is to free the shell from the silt so that it can be floated for removal,” police said in a statement.

Local officials offered emergency accommodations to residents and said work to remove the bomb would continue into Tuesday.
Bomb disposal experts successfully defuse the bomb.