Frankfurt evacuates for huge WWII bomb

60,000 have been evacuated

Frankfurt: At least 60,000 Frankfurt residents were forced to leave their homes on Sunday, in Germany’s biggest post-war evacuation, to allow bomb disposal experts to defuse a huge unexploded World War II bomb.

At least 60,000 people were forced to leave their homes in central Frankfurt on Sunday as Germany begins an operation to defuse a huge unexploded World War II bomb dubbed “blockbuster”.

The operation is the biggest evacuation of its kind in post-war Germany, Frankfurt’s security chief Markus Frank said. The 1.8tonne British bomb, which German media said was nicknamed “Wohnblockknacker” — or blockbuster — for its ability to wipe out whole streets and flatten buildings, was discovered during building works last Tuesday.

Police have since been guarding the bomb site, which is close to the city centre and just some 2.5 kilometres north of the main Zeil shopping area.

Homes and buildings within a 1.5-kilometre radius of the site were supposed to be cleared by 0600 GMT, but some people were still in the evacuation zone well past the deadline as police carried out doorto-door checks.

At one building where officers were ringing the doorbells and using loudspeakers to announce the evacuation, a man and a woman emerged, saying they were unaware they were in the affected district.

At midday, emergency services were still unable to give the allclear for the bomb disposal units to move in.

After a delay of at least two hours, experts were finally able to start disarming the bomb, an HC 4000, a high-capacity explosive used in air raids by Britain’s Royal Air Force during World War II.