The disposal of a World War II bomb has forced some 26,000 residents of the western German city of Paderborn to leave their homes on Sunday.
A bomb disposal squad is currently working at a construction site where the explosive device, dropped by Britain during the war, was discovered last month.
The bomb is considered "particularly dangerous," as it is located only 80 centimeters under the earth and may cause a serious damage to the city, Deutsche Welle reported.
Eerily quiet in Paderborn due to #pbbombe defusal at the start of #Atos #GoldforExperts…. so that’s what the #ZombieApocalypse sounds like…. pic.twitter.com/fimhhJKygN
— Sven Geerts (@geerts_sven) 8 апреля 2018 г.
The mass evacuation affected buildings within a 1.5-kilometer radius of the explosive device, including two hospitals, a number of elderly care facilities, the university and several streets in the historic old town.
Es sind leichte Verkehrsbehinderungen zu erwarten… Gut, dass man bei dem Wetter Fahrrad fahren kann! #pbbombe #Paderborn pic.twitter.com/YgqdDyhFdb
— Nathanael Kühl (@dernate) 8 апреля 2018 г.
There are slight traffic problems to be expected… Good, that the weather is great for cycling!
READ MORE: Germany: Large WWII-Era Bomb Prompts Evacuation of 70,000 Frankfurt Residents
If the disposal works go according to a plan, residents will be able to go back to their homes at around 5 p.m. local time.
Ein aktuelles Bild der webcam vom Rathausplatz #paderborn #pbbombe pic.twitter.com/5ficyUe7pz
— Ralf Pirsig (@RalfPirsig) 8 апреля 2018 г.
A recent webcam's picture from Rathausplatz
A big WW2 bomb was discovered in #Paderborn close to my university and evacuation of 26,000 people is being prepared for today night. Our house is not far away from the location of the bomb….More to come🌻 pic.twitter.com/KP10G53JDR
— Rahman Jamal (@RahmanNow) 8 апреля 2018 г.
A day of mass evacuation has arrived. Biggest in Paderborn's history, some 26,000 people must move out. As this place next to our building has massive 1.8 ton of WW2 bomb beneath it. Paderborn turned into Paderbomb.#Paderborn #zweiterWeltkrieg #Deutschland #WorldWar2 pic.twitter.com/vKckVf1G2q
— Sufyan (@sufiismm) 8 апреля 2018 г.
Some 5,500 unexploded bombs are neutralized in Germany annually and there are still tens of thousands left.
Last year, about 70,000 residents had to leave their homes in Frankfurt due to a 1.8-tonne British bomb from World War II being found during ground works.
According to estimates, the US and British air forces dropped over one million tons of bombs on Germany in their struggle against the Nazi regime.
