The German city of Cologne is moving 20,500 people in its largest evacuation since World War II, after officials discovered three massive, unexploded bombs.
The American bombs – two 20-ton weapons and another that weighs 10 tons – were found in a shipyard on Monday, the city said, causing a huge “danger zone” to be sealed off on Wednesday morning.
A hospital, two retirement centers and the city’s second largest train station were among the facilities emptied out. Schools, churches, museums and two of the city’s cultural landmarks – the Musical Dome theater and the Philharmonic Hall – also fell within the evacuation zone.
The discovery of unexploded weapons is a frequent phenomenon in Cologne, which was decimated by Allied bombing during World War II, but no operation of this size has been carried out since the end of the war, the city said.
The city told residents to “stay calm (and) prepare yourselves” for the evacuation, recommending they visit friends or family and avoid workplaces in the sealed-off area.
Officials said they “cannot make any reliable predictions” about how long the operation will take, adding that specialists cannot begin to defuse the bombs until the entire area has been evacuated.
