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Experts from the Hessian Ordnance Disposal Service successfully defused a 500-kilogram World War II bomb in Frankfurt am Main on Sunday afternoon. Almost 13,000 residents had to leave their apartments due to the deactivation, but have now been able to return. Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance and regional services should also run again without delay at night.
The explosive device was found Thursday during construction works in Frankfurt’s Gallus district. Emergency services initially assumed that deactivating the mechanical detonator could take up to six hours in the event of complications. In fact, it took the explosives experts only an hour and a half.
Nursing homes, a district heating pipeline, internet centers, substations and Deutsche Bahn central facilities were in the danger zone. The evacuation started early in the morning: all residents must leave the exclusion zone by 8 am Thermal imaging cameras were used to check if everyone adhered to the agreement. As “Hessenschau” reports, the police cleared an apartment.
700 people sought refuge in an exhibition hall
For everyone who couldn’t stay with friends or family, a care center had been set up in an exhibition hall, due to the corona pandemic, with masking and distance requirements. According to the fire department, up to 700 people had gathered there in the afternoon.
“It’s not a good Advent Sunday for the people here,” said Armin Bender, volunteer disaster control officer for the German Red Cross. “But they are all incredibly disciplined.” Everyone who made it to the showroom had a fever, and everyone with a high fever or cough was screened for coronavirus with a rapid test. Those who were already infected were collected from their homes by the health department and placed in hospitals or hotels.
In regional and long-distance rail traffic, there were partial interruptions and delays. ICE trains from Berlin via Kassel to Frankfurt or from Stuttgart and Munich did not stop at the main station, but at Frankfurt-Süd. ICE trains from Frankfurt to Amsterdam and Brussels were canceled between Frankfurt Central Station and Cologne Central Station. As reported by Deutsche Bahn via the Twitter news service, diversions and impediments should be lifted around 6 pm
