Some 6,500 residents evacuated after a 250-kilogram US-made WWII bomb is discovered during construction work in Potsdam, Germany.
POTSDAM: Thousands of residents have been evacuated ahead of the planned defusing of a 250-kilogram World War II bomb discovered in the German city of Potsdam, just outside Berlin, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
Some 6,500 people living in the affected area had been asked to evacuate by 8.30 am [0630 GMT] on Tuesday morning, with emergency workers currently going from door to door to check if everyone had left, according to a spokeswoman for the city administration.
Train services at the city’s main station have been suspended.
An exclusion zone with a radius of 700 metres has been established around the US-made bomb, which was discovered during construction work in the city centre.
Bomb disposal expert Mike Schwitzke said he expected the defusing operation to take between 30 minutes and an hour.
It is not uncommon for unexploded World War II ordnance to be found in Germany, even more than 80 years after the war ended.
The bombs are usually discovered during construction work, sometimes resulting in major evacuation operations.
