Emergency crews in Germany detonated a Second World War bomb in Munich today because the 550-pound American ordinance couldn’t be safely defused.
The resulting explosion sent a fireball into the sky, shattered windows, started fires and left a crater in the middle of the road, BBC said.
Construction workers found the unexploded bomb three feet underground as they tried to demolish a local bar.
About 2,500 people evacuated their homes Tuesday night as crews worked.
“I run a hairdressing business,” Damla Sahin told The Telegraph. “I haven't been inside yet. We are not allowed in because there is still a danger that the building could collapse. All our windows have fallen out and the door has been split in three.”
The bomb disposal unit tried to defuse the weapon, but because it used a chemical fuse, they decided the safer option was a controlled detonation.
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Fire crews placed hay bales around the area to control the concussion, but those caught fire and ignited a few small rooftop fires.
“Almost all the window panes in the immediate area were destroyed,” bomb expert Diethard Posorski told Spiegel Online.
WWII-era munitions aren’t uncommon in Germany.
Munich officials estimate 2,500 bombs are underneath the city from the 1939-1945 conflict in Europe.
Tens of thousands of bombs likely dot the German countryside, Spiegel Online said.
Other European countries also face a bomb problem.
Just a few hours after the detonation in Munich, construction crews found a bomb underground while working near Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, The Associated Press reported.
Officials closed Pier C at the busy hub, causing numerous delays and cancelations.
Crews in Warsaw, Poland also found a 1.5-ton German bomb in that city today.
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