evacuation
War bomb is defused in Heidelberg
Police cordon off the site of a World War II bomb in Heidelberg. photo
© René Priebe/pr-video/dpa
A World War II bomb is found during construction work near Heidelberg Central Station. Now let the specialists go. This has consequences for several thousand Heidelbergers.
Due to the defusing of a World War II bomb in Heidelberg, a larger area around the main station will be closed this morning. The evacuation is scheduled to begin around 7 a.m., affecting several thousand people, the city said. Schools, universities and kindergartens in the area will remain closed on Friday. A complete closure of the main station and train traffic should be avoided for as long as possible.
By 12 noon, all people in the evacuation zone must have vacated their homes or workplaces and left the exclusion zone. “City and police forces will go from house to house in the affected area, ring the doorbell and make loudspeaker announcements,” the city said.
A time for the defusing has not yet been set, a 50-meter security radius around the site will remain in place overnight, the city and police said. The 250-kilo bomb discovered on a construction site was secured by the ordnance clearance service and is being guarded by the police. She was found yesterday during construction work near the main train station.
The evacuation radius – which includes a large part of Bahnstadt and parts of Bergheim – includes the F&U campus, the Bahnstadt elementary school and Schiller University. The city is setting up a lounge in the SNP dome multi-purpose hall for people who have no other accommodation option during the evacuation.