Police in Dresden said a 250-kilogram World War II bomb was safely defused Friday after authorities evacuated about 18,000 people from the city center, capping one of the largest operations of its kind in the eastern German city.
The unexploded British device was uncovered during clearance and construction work to rebuild a bridge over the Elbe River that partially collapsed in 2024. Emergency services ordered an evacuation within a 1-kilometer radius, calling it the city’s largest such operation in recent years.
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More than 400 police officers and other emergency personnel were deployed, backed by a helicopter and a drone, to check homes, shops, schools, care homes and offices inside the cordoned zone, authorities said.
Explosive ordnance specialists “removed the detonator of the bomb at 3:10 p.m. (2:10 p.m. Irish time) before exploding it,” police said in a statement, adding that the device was then removed from the site. Officials said the evacuation zone would be reopened after a final safety check.
The precautionary sweep shut some of Dresden’s best-known landmarks, including the Zwinger Palace and the Frauenkirche church, along with residential buildings, hotels and government offices in the historic core.
Dresden was devastated by Allied air raids on Feb. 13-14, 1945, which killed up to 25,000 people and destroyed much of the Baroque old town. Unexploded ordnance from that period is still occasionally found during construction or redevelopment work.
The bridge works have yielded several recent discoveries: World War II bombs were found and defused at the same site in January and August last year, forcing thousands of residents and workers to leave the area during those operations.
Friday’s evacuation centered on the area surrounding the Elbe crossing, where crews have been clearing debris and preparing foundations since the partial collapse in September 2024. Officials did not immediately provide further details on when construction would resume following the latest interruption.
Authorities urged patience throughout the day as bomb disposal teams worked through a methodical sequence: isolating the site, emptying buildings within the 1-kilometer safety cordon, disabling the detonator and conducting a controlled blast before removing the device. Police said they would lift road closures and allow residents to return once the final inspection confirmed no secondary hazards remained.
The operation underscored the logistical scale and routine precision of Germany’s bomb disposal protocols, particularly in cities like Dresden where dense historic districts sit atop layers of 20th-century wartime debris. Despite the large evacuation and disruptions across the city center, authorities reported a coordinated response and a safe outcome.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
