- 05 Dec 11, 15:36#285572
The Lancaster bomber, the gift that keeps on giving
1.8 ton British Second World War bomb defused in Germany
A massive British Second World War-era bomb that triggered the evacuation of half of Germany's western city of Koblenz has been successfully defused.
Heiko Breitbarth, a spokesman for Koblenz firefighters, said that experts were able to defuse the 1.8 ton bomb, as well as a 275lb US bomb that had been discovered last month in the Rhine river.
He said the evacuation order still remains in place because a smaller smoke grenade found nearby will be brought to a controlled explosion.
Some 45,000 residents living within a radius of about 1.2 miles from the bomb site had to leave their homes on Sunday in what was one of Germany's biggest bomb-related evacuations since the war ended.
About 2,500 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were on duty across the city to secure the operation.
Finding unexploded bombs dropped by the Allies over Germany is common even more than 65 years after the war's end. The explosives are usually defused or brought to a controlled explosion without causing injuries.
The residents of Koblenz, which was heavily bombarded during WWII, are somewhat used to bomb scares. City officials said 28 smaller war bombs had been found there since 1999. Such bombs in Germany are often found during construction work or by farmers ploughing their fields.
1.8 ton British Second World War bomb defused in Germany
A massive British Second World War-era bomb that triggered the evacuation of half of Germany's western city of Koblenz has been successfully defused.
Heiko Breitbarth, a spokesman for Koblenz firefighters, said that experts were able to defuse the 1.8 ton bomb, as well as a 275lb US bomb that had been discovered last month in the Rhine river.
He said the evacuation order still remains in place because a smaller smoke grenade found nearby will be brought to a controlled explosion.
Some 45,000 residents living within a radius of about 1.2 miles from the bomb site had to leave their homes on Sunday in what was one of Germany's biggest bomb-related evacuations since the war ended.
About 2,500 police officers, firefighters and paramedics were on duty across the city to secure the operation.
Finding unexploded bombs dropped by the Allies over Germany is common even more than 65 years after the war's end. The explosives are usually defused or brought to a controlled explosion without causing injuries.
The residents of Koblenz, which was heavily bombarded during WWII, are somewhat used to bomb scares. City officials said 28 smaller war bombs had been found there since 1999. Such bombs in Germany are often found during construction work or by farmers ploughing their fields.
"I'll bet ya a hundred and five thousand dollars you go to sleep before I do."
--Dobbsie
--Dobbsie
