Large, unexploded WWII bomb forces 2,500 to evacuate in Poland

Warsaw, Poland — A large, unexploded World War II bomb was discovered in the Polish city of Wrocław, forcing the evacuation of 2,500 residents on Friday. The 550-pound bomb was found near a railroad overpass in the southwestern Polish city during construction work.

The Polish Armed Forces said it was a German SC-250 aerial bomb of the war.

The city arranged for buses to take evacuated residents to safety while bomb disposal experts worked at the scene. According to Polish media reports, train services were also halted until the bomb was removed.

Police spokeswoman Alexandra Frias told broadcaster TVN24 that not all residents agreed to leave their homes and authorities could not force them to do so. Police issued a public call for evacuation, citing the “threat to human health and life posed by unexploded ordnance”.

During World War II, Wrocław was the German city of Breslau. It saw heavy fighting and widespread destruction, coming under heavy Soviet bombardment before Germany surrendered.

The city became part of Poland when the borders were redrawn after the war, forcing defeated Germany to leave the area.

Unexploded bombs from WWII still cause occasional problems in much of Western Europe. In February, officials said the bomb was similar in size to the one found in Poland. exploded in an “unplanned” explosion in Great Yarmouth, England.

Authorities first learned of the bomb when a contractor who was dredging a local river discovered it. No one was injured in the blast, but the area has been evacuated.

Last summer, during Italy’s worst drought since WWII, the country’s longest river, the Po, dried up enough to reveal a 1,000-pound bomb once sunk from the war.

This Destroyed About 30 miles from where it was found, but before that, about 3,000 people living nearby were evacuated so military experts could safely defuse the device.