PHOTO More than 1,000 people evacuated from a suburb of Paris, due to the detonation of a bomb from the Second World War
Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled underground detonation of a World War II explosive device near Paris on Sunday, according to AFP.
The bomb was discovered on April 10 in Colombes, a suburb northwest of Paris.
For Sunday's operation, more than 1,000 people were evacuated from the area.
Almost 800 policemen ensured the isolation of the area so that the experts could detonate the bomb, in a pit with a depth of two meters.
Residents within 450 meters were told on Sunday morning to move to local reception centers and await a signal from authorities later in the day before returning to the area. Some local roads were closed to traffic.
Alexandre Brugere, a local official, declared on Thursday that the operation was “risky” and required a “high level of preparation”.
Eighty years after the end of the conflict, unexploded World War II-era munitions are still being found in Europe, particularly in Germany, where bombs are regularly found on construction sites.
In 2025, the detection of a 500-kilogram war bomb halted traffic at Paris's Gare du Nord, France's busiest rail terminal.
