TL;DR
Massive evacuation in Central Berlin as an unexploded 500kg WWII bomb was discovered near the central railway station. Disruption of public and private transport services across the city is expected as Berlin Police bomb disposal squads work to resolve the situation.
A massive evacuation is underway in Central Berlin as bomb squads aim to dispose of a 500-kilo World War II bomb found in the vicinity.
The unexploded bomb was discovered this past week during construction work near the Berlin Hauptbahnhof – the city’s central railway station. Even though there isn’t an imminent danger from the bomb, a roughly 1-kilometer radius from the construction site is being cordoned-off as a precaution.
(2/2) Im Umkreis von 800m müssen zu Ihrer Sicherheit ab 9 Uhr alle Gebäude geräumt werden.
— Polizei Berlin (@polizeiberlin) April 18, 2018
Bitte folgen Sie den Anweisungen der Behörden!
Wir werden Sie am Freitag auf unserem Einsatzkanal @PolizeiBerlin_E mit Informationen zu den Maßnahmen versorgen. pic.twitter.com/pBvI5fgBYN
The area being cleared includes the aforementioned central railway station, Uzbek and Indonesian embassies, the offices of the transport and economy ministries of Berlin, and a military hospital. The Federal Intelligence agency and ministry have also been evacuated. Luckily, the Parliament (Reichstag) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s offices are a few hundred meters from the exclusion zone and thus, safe & operational.
However, German Rail company Deutsche Bahn has warned of widespread disruption of most local routes, trains, buses and even private transport services. The operation began at 9:00 AM today will last until the situation is under control.
In der #Heidestr. liegt der Ursprung allen Übels - die #Weltkriegsbombe.
— Polizei Berlin Einsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) April 20, 2018
Unsere Feuerwerker vom #LKA stehen bereit. pic.twitter.com/OvMd09dfsD
Translation: In the # Heidestr . lies the source of all evil – the # 1 World War II bomb . Our firefighters from # LKA are ready.
How did this World War II bomb get to Berlin?
This half-tonne British bomb is a remnant from the relentless Allied bombing of Nazi Germany during World War 2. Berlin alone is said to have an estimated 3,000 WWII-era bombs and mines yet to be found or unearthed. But this is nothing new in the country as hundreds of such “Unexploded Ordinances” are found each year.
The good news is that airports and flights will not be affected by the disruption, and will continue to operate normally. Traffic is (obviously) going to be a major pain in Berlin until the situation is resolved. Though we expect this to happen sooner than later.
Courtesy: Berlin Police
