Berlin evacuates about 20,000 after two WWII bombs found
Mass evacuations in central Berlin as authorities manage two unexploded ordnance devices; one pending defusal
Berlin was rocked by a mass evacuation order on Friday after two unexploded World War II bombs were discovered in the capital, prompting authorities to shutter government buildings and clear streets around the central districts. Police confirmed that a 1940s-era device had been recovered from the Spree river earlier in the day, triggering a major safety operation.
Around 7,500 residents were told to leave Fischerinsel, just south of the river, with police going door-to-door in the touristic Mitte district to urge locals to evacuate. Residents in the densely populated area around the bomb were told to leave over the 'mortal danger' of a potential explosion, according to an emergency advisory notice. A 500-metre exclusion zone was established around the explosive, including Berlin's city hall. Police said the evacuation around the Spree bomb was complete on Friday morning. The authorities said there was no immediate threat that required the device to be defused at once.
A separate device, a second bomb weighing about 100 kilograms, was recovered a day earlier in the Spandau district and is scheduled to be defused later on Friday. About 12,400 people were asked to evacuate from the area around that explosive while the operation continued. Local authorities opened an emergency shelter at a nearby gym to house evacuees, alongside arrangements at Mitte town hall and a nearby school.
Officials said the Spree river bomb was found near Fischerinsel, buried under four metres of water and covered in sediment as construction work advanced in the city. The find underscores a long-running, routine effort in Germany to search for unexploded munitions ahead of major projects, a practice DW has reported on in recent years.
The incident comes amid ongoing precautions in German cities to locate and safely handle unexploded ordnance from the war, which have become a recurring feature of urban development. Investigators have stressed that while the immediate threat appeared limited, authorities would complete defusal and clearance as soon as conditions allowed.