Blast from the past

German authorities defused two undetonated World War II bombs found recently in the Rhine River, that forced the evacuation of nearly half the population of the city of Koblenz.

The bombs were discovered on November 20 after water levels in the Rhine fell due to lack of rain.

The order to evacuate came Sunday morning and affected around 45,000 people. Among the evacuees were patients in two hospitals, residents in seven retirement homes, and inmates at a prison.

Seven schools had been converted to temporary shelters for the displaced Koblenz residences, but these were reportedly scarcely being used as many people opted to stay with friends or relatives outside the evacuation zone.

Many left on Saturday as the date and time for the attempted defusing operation had already been set.

Three unexploded devices

The evacuation effort marked one of the biggest in post-war Germany due to unexploded World War II munitions, which are routinely uncovered during construction projects or in riverbeds.

The evacuation area encompassed an area two kilometres (1.2 miles) surrounding the bomb.

The biggest unexploded device was a 1.8-ton British bomb. A 125-kilogram (275 pound) American bomb and a smokescreen device were also found. After the two bombs were defused, the smokescreen bomb was blown up in a controlled explosion.

Following the detonation, fire department conducted a check of the area to make sure no dangerous chemicals were still present. None were found, and the all-clear for residents to return to their homes was given early Sunday evening.

Sandbags were stacked around the bombs to divert river water and enable a bomb squad to work on the devices. The defusing operation lasted just over two hours.

Author: Matt Zuvela (AP, dpa, AFP)
Editor: Andreas Illmer