- Title: Frankfurt evacuates over 60,000 for WW2 bomb defusal
- Date: 3rd September 2017
- Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 3, 2017) (REUTERS) BUS ARRIVING TO EVACUATE PEOPLE DESTINATION SIGN ON BUS READING (German) "SPECIAL TRIP" PEOPLE ON BUS BUS DRIVING OFF HOUSES MAN LOOKING OUT OF WINDOW PEOPLE CARRYING BELONGINGS VARIOUS OF FAMILY LEAVING HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (German) LOCAL RESIDENT, SINEM YOKUS, SAYING: "My parents live in this multi-storey building here, my siblings live behind this street, and we are all going to my sister's in Giessen. She lives over there and we thought we'd make a nice day of it, make the best of it." GIRL HOLDING PILLOW VARIOUS OF FAMILY GETTING INTO CAR AND DRIVING OFF VARIOUS OF MAN WITH SUITCASE GETTING INTO CAR WOMEN WALKING PAST WITH CARRIER BAG POLICE OFFICER STANDING BY MOTORBIKE IN MIDDLE OF STREET VARIOUS OF ELDERLY PEOPLE BEING EVACUATED FROM CARE HOME POLICE BOMB DISPOSAL EXPERT VARIOUS OF SHRAPNEL GUARDS BEING SET UP VARIOUS OF POLICE WALKING PEOPLE WALKING WITH SUITCASES (SOUNDBITE) (English) PASSER-BY, MICHAEL ROCHE FROM BOSTON, SAYING: "Throw a few things in the bag and off we go, that's all. It's going to be very safe anyway." (SOUNDBITE) (German) PASSER-BY, JANET BRUINING (pronounced BROI-NING), SAYING: "We're going to a museum, to a cafe and to the Fressgass (street in central Frankfurt), to try the Rheingau wines until about 6, and then we will probably be able to go home, so long as it doesn't explode." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SITTING IN EVACUATION HALL VARIOUS OF FRANKFURT MAYOR PETER FELDMANN TALKING TO PEOPLE (SOUNDBITE) (German) FRANKFURT MAYOR, PETER FELDMANN, SAYING: "My impression is that people are relatively calm and collected, the emergency services too. People are well-prepared. We obviously don't know how the day will pan out, that's not something we can control but the professionals are doing what they can and we'll see what happens." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN EVACUATION HALL POLICE VARIOUS OF SECURITY BARRIERS ON ROAD
- Embargoed: 17th September 2017 09:37
- Keywords: World War Two bomb defusal disposal evacuation Frankfurt
- Location: FRANKFURT, GERMANY
- City: FRANKFURT, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0016X1JY2V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: More than 60,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the German city of Frankfurt on Sunday (September 3) as bomb disposal experts prepared to defuse a World War Two bomb that was discovered during construction work in the city's leafy Westend suburb.
Families packed up bags and set off to spend the day in other parts of the city or further afield, while a steady flow of people filed into a temporary centre at Frankfurt's trade fair site, in Germany's biggest evacuation since the war.
The fire service helped to evacuate around 500 elderly people from residences and care homes, after patients in intensive care were evacuated from hospital on Saturday (September 2).
Bomb disposal experts will use a special system to try and unscrew the fuses attached to the HC 4,000 bomb from a safe distance. If that fails, a water jet will be used to cut the fuses away from the bomb.
The bomb is assumed to have been dropped by Britain's Royal Air Force during the 1939-45 war. British and American warplanes pummelled the country with 1.5 million tonnes of bombs that killed 600,000 people. Officials estimate 15 percent of the bombs failed to explode, some burrowing six metres (yards) deep. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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