Authorities will close the city’s historic center to disable the bombs. About 20,000 people will have to leave their homes
The German city of Colony is preparing to begin the greater evacuation since World War II. On Wednesday morning, about 20,000 people will be forced out of town after the authorities have discovered three non-detonated bombs from World War II.
These are two 20 tons pumps and one of 10 tons, all of US manufacturing, which were launched by the allies 80 years ago, not knowing exactly when. The three bombs were found on Monday, during construction work on the right bank of the Rhine River, and will be deactivated on Wednesday morning by the District Government of Düsseldorf Explosives.
For “security reasons”, the authorities defined a danger zone with a radius of 1,000 kilometers around where they were discovered. The entire historic center of Colonia and much of Deutz will be evacuated, which implies the removal of more than 20,000 people from the city. On the city’s official website, it states that this is the biggest evacuation in the city since the end of the war in 1945, which includes zones such as the Ludwig Museum and the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, as well as large companies, such as the RTL television station, which had to change its programs to Berlin studios.
“The danger zone includes the Messe/Deutz Train Station of Colonia, the Lanxess Arena, the RTL, the Colony Fairs Center, the Eduardus Hospital, two elderly homes and the City Hall. The Severins Bridge, the Hohenzollern Bridge and the Deutz Bridge will be closed,” he can be read in a statement on the official website of Colonia.
To ensure the safety of the population, the police have the orders to use the strength to remove anyone who refuses to leave voluntarily.
Despite this apparatus, the truth is that this kind of situations is not unusual in the colony, which was one of the most bombarded German cities during World War II, and similar bombs has been discovered in recent years.
