World War II bomb defused in Cottbus: highway closed, residents evacuated!

World War II bomb defused in Cottbus: highway closed, residents evacuated!

On Friday morning, a World War II bomb was successfully defused in the Kahren district of Cottbus. Loud rbb24 It was a German 50-kilo incendiary bomb equipped with a Russian detonator. During the defusing, the section of the A15 motorway between Cottbus Süd and Roggosen was completely closed. The closure was lifted on Friday morning.

The experts' proper action was necessary because the bomb's detonator was in poor condition. So after it was removed, it was blown up in the forest near where it was found. The rest of the bomb was transported to Kummersdorf and also exploded there. The bomb was discovered near the planned Cottbus-Ost motorway junction, not during construction work, but based on a tip from a resident on a forest path.

Evacuation and further operations

At the same time, bomb disposal operations took place at various locations in Berlin. Another World War II bomb was recovered from Fischerinsel in Berlin-Mitte, but it was considered harmless. In the old town of Spandau, 12,400 people had to be evacuated during a defusal, which led to one of the largest evacuations in Berlin to defuse a bomb.

There was also an additional operation in Cottbus, where explosives experts defused a 250 kilo bomb on the railway site. This is stated in a report by the Daily Mirror mentioned. Train traffic was stopped during the defusing process and the train station also had to be closed. Around 1,800 people, including residents of a retirement home and guests of a hotel, had to leave their homes.

Emergency shelters were set up to look after the affected people. The explosive ordnance disposal service took care of transporting the defused bomb. This was discovered during construction work on the railway site and turned out to be of US design. During previous operations in Cottbus, bombs near the train station were defused in July and November of the previous year, which illustrates the urgency and frequency of such measures.

Context worldwide

The challenges associated with defusing World War II bombs are not just limited to Cottbus. Extensive defusing operations recently took place in Cologne, one of the most heavily bombed cities in the Second World War. Three unexploded bombs were defused here, resulting in one of the largest evacuation operations in the city since the Second World War. Over 20,000 people had to leave their homes within 1,000 meters of the site ZDF reported.

The ongoing discoveries and defusing of bombs pose significant challenges for authorities and residents. For historical reasons, many cities in Germany are not only confronted with the memory of the Second World War, but also with the real dangers that continue to arise from remnants of this time.