World War II bomb explodes in Munich injuring four people

Agencies | Munich

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Four people were injured in Munich on Wednesday, one of them seriously, when a bomb dropped on the city during World War II was set off during construction work, local officials said.

The bomb was accidentally detonated during work on a new railway line-taking place near the southern German city's main railway station, according to police.

One person has been stabilized after being admitted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, the Rechts der Isar Hospital said, according to Deutsche press agency (dpa).

The force of the explosion almost ripped one victim's legs off, but a four-hour operation to save the limbs appears to have been successful.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann visited the scene and said that a 250-kilogram aerial bomb had been struck during drilling work. He wished the people who had suffered injuries a speedy recovery.

The section of track where the work was being carried out is one of the busiest railway lines in Europe, with regional and long-distance trains passing through.

According to the fire department, the explosion did not damage any tracks, although some local trains had to be evacuated.

Train traffic to and from Munich's central station was halted for hours but gradually resumed on Wednesday afternoon.

Experts from the explosive ordnance disposal service are involved in an investigation into the incident.

It's unclear why the bomb was not discovered before work in the area began. Munich's city authorities normally take precise and regular soundings to find out where unexploded bombs might be located.

Germany is fairly accustomed to finding unexploded World War II ordnance, although most are defused by bomb disposal experts without incident.

In 2012, a 250-kilogram bomb was discovered in Munich that experts were unable to disarm. The device could only be removed following a controlled explosion. Some 2,500 residents in the district of Schwabing had to be evacuated ahead of the operation, which caused external damage to surrounding buildings and broke some windows.

In Berlin in September 1994, three construction workers were killed when a World War II bomb exploded unexpectedly.