Undefined Explosive Device (UED) event in North Rhine-Westphalia, Essen area, Germany on Thu 6th October 2022

Brief excitement in Essen's south-eastern district: there was a suspicion that a bomb had to be defused. Why this was not confirmed. Although a dud from the Second World War was found in Essen 's south-eastern district, it was not necessary to defuse it on Thursday (October 6th). The reason: the American five-hundredweight bomb had no detonator. The fire brigade was informed at around 10:30 am that a bomb might have been found in Manteuffelstrasse. The city immediately called the explosive ordnance clearance service. Firecracker Frank Stommel, who has already rendered an estimated 100 duds harmless in Essen alone in his professional life , moved out. "Due to the unfavorable location in the backyard, it took some time for the explosive ordnance clearance service to take a closer look at the dud and then give the all-clear," said the Essen fire brigade in the afternoon. Since it could not initially be ruled out that it might be necessary to defuse the bomb, the immediate residents had to leave their homes for the time being. The dud itself, known as the "hole bomb" because of the missing detonator, is now being properly disposed of by the explosive ordnance clearance service, it said.