Thousands stranded in Dresden after part explosion of historic bomb

Some 800 evacuated residents of the east German city of Dresden spent Wednesday night in emergency accommodation after an attempt to defuse a World War II bomb failed, ending in the partial detonation of the bomb.

A total of 8,700 people had to leave their homes in the city's west on Wednesday.

Experts are now waiting for the bomb to cool down before they can launch a fresh attempt to dispose of it safely, Police said on Thursday. "We ask for your patience until then," they said on Twitter.

Among those put up in temporary accommodation were some 100 senior citizens from care homes.

"The mood is mixed," Carsten Loewe of Dresden's fire safety service said on Thursday of those in temporary accommodation. "Especially for the elderly it has been a considerable burden to be taken out of their usual rhythm," he added.

There were no indications that anyone was harmed in Wednesday's blast. Police warned, however, that another detonation could not be ruled out. The bomb still posed a potential danger, Dresden police said in a tweet.

Experts are trying to defuse the 250-kilogram explosive device, which was discovered on Tuesday during construction work, from a distance.

Dresden is no stranger to bomb disposal operations: During World War II, allied bombing in February 1945 devastated Dresden within a couple of days, killing up to 25,000 civilians. Construction still regularly unearths unexploded devices in the city.