Over 1,000 People Evacuated in Ostrava, Czech Republic, After WWII Bomb Found

PRAGUE (Sputnik) - About 1,300 people were evacuated from a residential area of the Czech city of Ostrava on Saturday after the discovery of a 100-kilogram WWII bomb, local police reported.

"The bomb was found by a man digging in the ground near his house, who reported his finding to the police. The engineer that arrived at the scene gave the order to evacuate all residents within a radius of 800 metres [0.5 mile], which is about 1,300 people. The evacuation is still going on. Some of the residents settled in a gym at a nearby school after leaving their houses, others are waiting in a fireman's bus. After the evacuation is over, sappers will take the bomb out of the city and destroy it", the police spokesperson said.

World War II bombs and shells are often found in the vicinity of Ostrava, where in the spring of 1945 the Red Army carried out the Moravia-Ostrava offensive against Nazi forces. The Red Army alone deployed about 3,000 large-calibre guns and mortars, 180 tanks and self-propelled artillery installations, as well as over 400 aircraft in the operation.