- Another bomb found and defused in Cologne
In Cologne, a World War II bomb has been discovered during construction work. The city announced that the unexploded bomb in Porz-Westhoven will be defused tomorrow. The exact time is still to be determined. Around 7,000 residents, a clinic, a nursing home, and the freight railway station within a 1,000-meter radius will need to be evacuated.
Residents are asked to leave their homes and apartments tomorrow at 8 a.m. For those who cannot stay with family or friends, the city of Cologne has set up a shelter in a sports park.
This is the third such discovery in just a few days. Last week, two World War II bombs were defused in the city. Around 10,000 people were affected by the evacuations in the districts of Lindenthal and Rodenkirchen, including a hospital, nursing home residents, and patients from two day clinics.
The discovery of unexploded bombs is not uncommon in Cologne. About half of the air attacks on Nazi Germany were concentrated in today's North Rhine-Westphalia due to the then overwhelming industrial importance of the Ruhr area and the geographical proximity of western German cities to England.
Despite the ongoing efforts to clear World War II remnants, a World War I bomb was unexpectedly found during a recent excavation in Cologne. This ancient bomb adds to the city's long history of unearthing World War era munitions.
