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Thousands evacuated in Frankfurt as officials work to defuse WW2 bomb

More than 60,000 people have been evacuated in the German city of Frankfurt, as experts work to d...
Newstalk
Newstalk

12.29 3 Sep 2017


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Thousands evacuated in Frankfu...

Thousands evacuated in Frankfurt as officials work to defuse WW2 bomb

Newstalk
Newstalk

12.29 3 Sep 2017


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More than 60,000 people have been evacuated in the German city of Frankfurt, as experts work to defuse an unexploded bomb from World War 2.

The Sunday evacuation is the largest seen in Germany since the war.

The device - believed to have been dropped by British forces during raids more than 70 years ago - was discovered during construction works in a wealthy part of the city, with Germany's central bank included in the evacuation area.

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Officials have moved quickly to safely dispose of the bomb, amid concerns that an uncontrolled explosion would destroy an entire block of buildings.

Authorities in recent days have evacuated residents of nursing homes and hospital patients from the area ahead of today's planned disposal efforts.

German police have warned they have the power to use force to get people to leave the area, and urged residents to cooperate.

Those affected have been offered free entry to several of the city's museums, while shelters have also been opened for residents.

Officials have been using heat-detecting cameras to monitor the evacuation zone.

They reported some delays to the evacuation process, as some people were still in their homes.

BBC reports that a smaller operation on Saturday saw around 22,000 people evacuated in the city of Koblenz, again in order to allow experts dispose of an unexploded bomb.


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