60k evacuated in Frankfurt as experts defuse WWII bomb

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

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.

2k
Tonnes of live bombs and munitions found each year in Germany

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