Aircraft Bomb Defused in Neukölln

• 

  Police officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit stand next to a defused bomb.

• 

  Police officers and workers are standing next to a boat. An aerial bomb found in Berlin-Neukölln is said to be lying next to the boat.

• 

  Several dozen police officers are going door to door along Kielufer and Weigandufer to evacuate residents.

• 

  The defused World War II bomb lies on a stretcher after it was defused.

The 100-kilogram aerial bomb found in Berlin-Neukölln was successfully defused late Wednesday evening, according to a police statement. Thousands of people who had been evacuated from their homes were able to return shortly before midnight.

The World War II bomb had been found in the Neukölln shipping canal. The detonator was detached and rendered harmless. “There is no longer any danger,” the police announced. “All cordons have been lifted.” A 500-meter exclusion zone had been established around the site where the bomb was found. The evacuation took longer than expected and was not completed until late in the evening. It took a relatively long time because there were several long-term care facilities within the exclusion zone.

Police deploy 200 officers

Officials rang doorbells at many homes to get residents to leave their apartments. Loudspeaker trucks were driving along both sides of the shipping canal to inform people. The authorities also issued warnings via the Katwarn system. Police spokesperson Halweg warned that anyone living directly near the site where the object was found would be at great risk of injury or even death in the event of an explosion. If necessary, people would be forcibly removed from their homes.

Emergency shelter for 200 people

The police, fire department, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, and other organizations were on the scene in large numbers. According to its own reports, the police alone had about 200 officers on site. The German Red Cross handled the evacuation of residents. The district set up an emergency shelter at the Adolf-Reichwein School on Sonnenallee. The shelter can accommodate 200 people.

Several bombs are found each year

The explosive device, weighing about 100 kilograms, was brought to the surface after it was found and placed on a pontoon, police reported. They noted that World War II bombs are still frequently found in Berlin, and that several discoveries per year are quite common.