A World War II aerial bomb discovered in the German city of Hanover was safely detonated on Sunday after thousands of residents were cleared from the area, according to local fire brigade officials.
Around 8,000 people had to leave their homes in the central German city and move to a safe distance of 1 kilometre while technicians investigated and carried out a controlled detonation of the 500-kilogram unexploded bomb.
Bags with tens of thousands of litres of water had been placed around and over the site of the bomb to direct the blast wave. This was also to prevent the very dry grass at the site from catching fire.
Even hours after the evacuation zone was enforced at 9 am (0700 GMT), locals were not allowed to return: "First the experts from the explosive ordnance disposal service have to determine that there is no longer any danger," the fire brigade said.
Germany is accustomed to finding unexploded World War II munitions from Allied and Soviet bombing campaigns. Most are defused by bomb disposal experts without incident.
The suspected bomb in Hanover was found in the city's northern Sahlkamp district after soil soundings were conducted.
