WWII-era bomb detonated in German river

Berlin: Hundreds were evacuated as specialists defused a WWII-era bomb in the German city of Frankfurt.

The 250-kg US Air Force bomb was found in the Main river in central Frankfurt. It was discovered last Tuesday during an exercise dive by the fire service, local media reported.

Several small explosive devices were ignited under water to drive fish away before the actual defusing was carried out, Frankfort police tweeted. The police and fire department updated each step of the detonation procedure on social media to keep the public informed.

"As a diver discovered after the detonation, the bomb in the water was totally destroyed by the explosion," the Darmstadt Regional Council was quoted as saying.

A total of about 350 police, firefighters, German Red Cross staff and other forces were involved in the evacuation and detonation, police were reported as saying.

In a tweet, Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann said, "I thank all the volunteers for their professional work and dedication - and all the residents who had to leave their homes for their cooperation and patience."

It is not uncommon for bombs and other munitions to be found in Germany even more than 70 years after the end of the Second World War.

Last April, authorities in Berlin evacuated some 10,000 people in order to defuse a 500-kg British World War II bomb found during construction work in the centre of the city.

In 2017, authorities deactivated a much larger British bomb, a 1.4-ton HC 4000 aerial bomb, that was found at a Frankfurt construction site. The incident involved a mass evacuation of over 60,000 locals.