Rare trip after bomb discovered

A WORLD War 2 bomb forced a massive evacuation in Greece’s second-largest city yesterday, but also gave a group of refugees a rare day-trip to the museum.

The bomb was deactivated by specialists by midday but was still considered dangerous as authorities prepared to move it from the site just to the west of central Thessaloniki.

Up to 72 000 residents living within a 2km radius of the bomb site were asked to leave their homes for gyms, stadiums and cafes in one of the country’s biggest peacetime evacuations.

The 250kg bomb was discovered about 5m below ground during excavation works at a petrol station last week.

“Now the second phase of the operation to remove the bomb from the area begins,” regional governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas said, after the deactivation.

“The danger remains. Citizens must stay outside the evacuation zone until the bomb removal process is completed.”

For one group of refugees this meant a museum trip.The group, many of them Syrians fleeing the civil war, live in a nearby former toilet paper factory.

They were taken to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, a listed monument whose permanent exhibitions include masterpieces of ancient Greek art dating from prehistoric times.