Berlin, Aug 27. (dpa/GNA) – A 100-kilogram World War II bomb, found in Berlin, was defused late on Wednesday, allowing thousands of residents to return home shortly before midnight.
“There is no longer any danger,” police said. “All cordons have been lifted.” Residents of around 5,600 households in the Neukölln district, had earlier been ordered to leave their homes after the bomb was discovered in a canal.
A 500-metre exclusion zone was established around the site, with police going door to door and loudspeaker vehicles deployed on both sides of the canal, urging residents to leave.
Police spokesman Florian Nath said the evacuation, took relatively long because several care facilities were located within the exclusion zone.
Public transport services were also affected. Some 200 police officers were involved in the operation, alongside firefighters, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief and other emergency services.
The German Red Cross helped evacuate residents, while the district set up emergency accommodation for around 200 people. World War II bombs are still found several times a year in Berlin, according to police.
GNA