WWII unexploded bomb found in Polish city, 2,500 residents evacuated

2,500 residents in Wroclaw, Poland were evacuated after an unexploded bomb from World War II was found in the city, according to multiple media reports on Friday.

Bomb removal personnel were sent to the bomb's location while residents boarded buses organized and sent by the city to evacuate. Polish news broadcaster TVN24 reported that residents were evacuated at around 8 a.m., and Wroclaw city police spokesperson Aleksandra Freus told the Polish news source that not all residents agreed to evacuate.

The report, citing Poland's armed forces, stated that the bomb weighed 250 kilograms (550 pounds) and was a German SC-250 aerial bomb. It was discovered near a railway overpass in Wroclaw.

Freus stated a few hours after evacuating residents that bomb removal personnel had managed to deactivate the bomb and residents of the city were able to their homes.

What happened in Wroclaw?

Britannica stated that 70% of Wroclaw's residential areas and 90% of its industry were either damaged or destroyed during World War II.

The city was also the German city of Breslau during the war and was subjected to heavy Soviet bombardment. After the war, the city became part of Poland in August 1945 after the borders were redrawn.

In October 2020, the largest WWII bomb ever found in Poland, weighing more than 20 times the weight of the bomb that was found on Friday, exploded underwater as divers tried to defuse it. 750 people were evacuated from the area near the Piast Canal outside the town of Swinoujscie.

Another WWII aircraft bomb exploded in Munich in December 2021, killing four people at the city's main train station. The explosion occurred as the site was being drilled to build a tunnel, local police said.

Reuters contributed to this report.