PotsdamAfter a time delay, a World War II bomb was inspected and successfully blown up in Potsdam’s city center. There were initially no indications of damage.
A safety barrier had been set up in advance for safety reasons. However, individuals had repeatedly tried to penetrate them, the city administration reported on Friday afternoon. In the afternoon a heavy thunderstorm over Potsdam caused further delays.
At the site of the five-hundredweight bomb, a raft with straw bales had been assembled by the technical relief agency. This should serve to dampen the detonation and to protect against splinters. Blasting foreman Mike Schwitzke had decided in the morning that the unexploded ordnance cannot be defused, but must be blown up at the site of the discovery on the bottom of the Havel in front of the friendship island.
13,000 people had to leave their homes
The clearing of the blocking circle with a radius of around 800 meters around the site was not yet fully completed at noon. 13,000 people in the city center and in a nearby high-rise area had to leave their apartments in the morning. Not everyone wanted that. “The police sometimes had to come in,” said city spokeswoman Christine Homann. In four cases, people in the morning had tried unsuccessfully to break into the restricted area.
Among other things, three retirement homes, five daycare centers, the main train station, several museums and the State Chancellery were cleared and two bridges over the Havel were closed. Numerous helpers were on the way to help with the evacuation and to provide orientation.
Photo: dpa / Julian steels
Divers had started to climb the Havel in the morning and lowered an aluminum ring over the 250 kilogram bomb from World War II. It should be exposed. This enabled the ordnance disposal service to decide whether the unexploded ordnance should be disarmed on land or blown up in the river. In the event of an explosion, a straw raft above the site should mitigate the detonation.
Temporary blocking of train traffic
Until about 3:30 p.m., train traffic was interrupted due to the defusing of the aerial bomb on line S7 between Babelsberg and Potsdam Hauptbahnhof. Buses did not drive into the restricted area, trams drove through it without stopping. The state parliament remained closed on Friday according to its own information.
According to the city, the management staff in the town hall and the fire service operational staff in the Babelsberg fire station have been meeting since 6 a.m. Numerous buildings were to be evacuated, including museums, several ministries, the state chancellery and five day care centers. Car traffic should be diverted widely.
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