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WWII bomb

June 2, 2010

Although digging up and disarming undetonated bombs from the Second World War is a fairly common occurrence, a bomb squad in the city Goettingen got a tragic reminder that these bombs can still be deadly.

https://p.dw.com/p/NfNp
A man working to defuse a World War II bomb
Another bomb had been successfully disarmed last weekImage: picture alliance / dpa

Three members of a bomb disposal squad were killed and six others injured late Tuesday as they prepared to defuse a bomb left over from World War Two.

The bomb was uncovered by a construction crew working on a sports stadium in the central German city of Goettingen.

A similar bomb was dug up last week on the same site but was successfully disarmed without incident.

A defused bomb from World War II
Undetonated bombs like this are relatively common in GermanyImage: AP Graphics

According to police reports, the device exploded as the bomb squad prepared to begin the actual defusing. At the moment there is still no explanation why the bomb went off.

An evacuation of around 7,000 residents in the area had already begun at the time of the explosion. Two schools and several businesses remain closed near the site of the explosion as police search for clues to the cause of the blast.

Unearthing undetonated "dud" bombs from World War Two is a relatively common occurrence in Germany, and most are disarmed without incident.

mz/Reuters/DPA
Editor: Kyle James