Suspected WWII bombs cause evacuation in German city

The central station in the north-western German city of Osnabrück was closed on Sunday and the surrounding zone evacuated after four suspected World War II bombs were found, state-run rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced.

The central station in the north-western German city of Osnabrück was closed on Sunday and the surrounding zone evacuated after four suspected World War II bombs were found, state-run rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced.

Restrictions affecting long-distance, commuting and freight traffic would remain in place for the whole day, and the entire area around the station was an evacuation zone, DB said.

Around 15,400 residents had to evacuate their homes by early morning after probes found the suspected bombs on the city’s former freight yard, the city authorities said.

If the bombs are found to be unexploded, bomb disposal experts will be called in.

The city, which lies some 70 kilometres east of the Dutch border, has seen repeated evacuations after WWII bombs were found.

“The junction station was massively bombed during the war as a strategic target. There have been no probes at all in a large part of the region, and further finds are possible there,” the city authorities said in February.

A new residential area is being constructed on the site of the former freight yard.

Source: dpa