Residents of Koblenz, a town in western Germany, are to be evacuated after a 1.8 tonne WWII-era bomb was found at the bottom of the Rhine River in Germany. The bomb was discovered last month when the river’s water-level dropped to record lows.
The bomb will be defused on Sunday, prompting the evacuation of 45,000 of the city’s 106,000 residents, in what is said to be the biggest evacuation in the history of Koblenz. One hundred and eighty hospital patients, 350 residents from seven nursing homes and 200 prisoners from a local prison are among those who will be evacuated
In preparation for Sunday, workers are constructing an artificial dam out of 2,850 sandbags around the location where the bomb was found. That is being done so that the bomb will be defused in a dry environment.
More than 2,000 police officers, fire fighters and aid workers are involved in the process; many roads will be blocked as well as ship and train traffic along the Rhine.