Nearly 14,000 people had to be evacuated on Friday as sappers extracted and secured a WWII-era bomb in the eastern city of Lublin. The unexploded ordnance had been found by a construction worker during ground work.
The construction worker found the unexploded ordnance on Thursday morning (August 10). It was located near Wrońska Street in Lublin's neighborhood of Bronowice.
The bomb was found in the area where an aircraft factory had once stood before WWII. After invading Poland, the Germans used this location by setting up a POW camp, a labour camp, and a storage and segregation space for property stolen from Jewish people. Currently a residential neighborhood is being built there.
The area was secured by the police and military sappers established the evacuation zone.
On Friday afternoon, a team of sappers extracted the nearly 400-kg bomb, whose blast zone had been established at approximately 800 meters. The city hall said approximately 13,700 people resided within that range. All had to be evacuated before the sappers could begin their work.
The General Command of the Armed Forces announced the mission was over around 2 p.m. The military added on social media that a sapper patrol from Dęblin had removed and taken the unexploded bomb to the proving ground in Nowa Dęba, where it was neutralized.
The evacuation commenced at 7 a.m. and was called off shortly after 1 p.m. Thousands of local residents could then safely return to their homes.
Approximately 200 territorial army soldiers and police officers were involved in the operation.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Justyna/Kontakt24