Cologne: 20,000 evacuated after unexploded WWII bombs discovered
More than 20,000 residents were being evacuated from part of Cologne's city center on Wednesday as specialists prepared to defuse three unexploded U.S. bombs from World War II that were unearthed earlier this week.
Even 80 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs dropped during wartime air raids are frequently found in Germany.
Disposing of them sometimes entails large-scale precautionary evacuations but this is Cologne's biggest evacuation since 1945.
There have been bigger evacuations in other cities.
Authorities on Wednesday morning started evacuating about 20,500 residents from an area within a 1,000 metre (3,280-foot) radius of the bombs, which were discovered on Monday during preparatory work for road construction.
They were found in the Deutz district, just across the Rhine River from Cologne's historic center.
As well as homes, the area includes 58 hotels, nine schools, several museums and office buildings and the Messe/Deutz train station.
It also includes three bridges across the Rhine — among them the heavily used Hohenzollern railway bridge, which leads into Cologne's central station and is being shut during the defusal work itself.
Shipping on the Rhine will also be suspended.
The plan is for the bombs to be defused during the course of the day. When exactly that happens depends on how long it takes for authorities to be sure that everyone is out of the evacuation zone.
In a statement, the City of Cologne said: "The first bell has sounded. People in the evacuation area have to leave their homes. The road closures are put in place.
"It is not possible to predict when the first ringing tour will be completed."
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