German and US WWII bombs found in central Germany

[BERLIN] Two bombs dating from World War II were found Monday in central Germany in a town north of Frankfurt, forcing the temporary evacuation of some 2,500 people. local police said.

A 250kg German bomb and a 50kg American one were discovered close to each other in an industrial zone of the town of Giessen in central Hesse state.

Police said the German bomb had to be e exploded as it was too deformed to be defused, while the US explosive could be safely defused.

Around 2,500 people, including 800 refugees at a reception centre, were briefly evacuated from their homes before the explosion, police added.

Nearly 75 years after the end of war, Germany remains littered with unexploded ordnance, a legacy of the Allied bombing campaign against Nazi Germany.

On Sunday a bomb likely dating to World War II was exploded in a field in western Germany leaving a huge crater but no injuries,

And earlier this month, a 100kg US bomb from the war, discovered during building work near a shopping complex, was defused in central Berlin after the evacuation of around 3,000 people.

According to experts, 10 per cent of the millions of bombs dropped on Germany during the conflict did not explode.

AFP