consequence of war
500-kilo bomb exploded in Hanover
Fire brigade and police forces control the evacuation area in Hanover. The ten hundredweight bomb from the Second World War has been detonated. photo
© Michael Matthey/dpa
It was not clear for a long time what kind of bomb it was. On Sunday it turned out in Hanover: The dud from World War II is so big that it has to be blown up. 8,000 people had to leave their homes in the morning.
A ten hundredweight bomb from the Second World War was detonated in Hanover on Sunday evening. Around 8,000 people had to leave their homes for this, as a spokesman for the fire brigade said. The restricted zone was in effect from 9:00 a.m. Because there were still two people in the evacuation radius of 1000 meters in the Hanover-Sahlkamp area in the afternoon, preparations for the blasting had to be temporarily interrupted.
After ground probing, four ordnance from the Second World War were initially suspected. Later it turned out that there is only one suspicious point. Confirmation came on Sunday: a 500-kilo aircraft bomb with a long-term detonator had been discovered and had to be detonated on site.
For this purpose, sacks with tens of thousands of liters of water were placed around and over the site. This should direct the pressure wave during the blast. This was also to prevent the very dry grass from catching fire on site.
Even after the blast, the restricted area was initially not allowed to be entered in the evening. First of all, the ordnance disposal service had to determine that there was no longer any danger, the fire brigade said. Shortly thereafter, the restricted area was released.