Bomb (Air Delivered) event in Emsland , Salzbergen area, Germany on Wed 23rd February 2022

Bomb in Salzbergen defused - evacuation ended Status: 02/23/2022 10:31 p.m An aircraft bomb from the Second World War has been found in Salzbergen (Emsland district). It was defused late Wednesday evening. 4,500 people were then allowed to return to their homes. At around 10:10 p.m. everyone received the redeeming news: the bomb had been defused, the detonator removed and blown up. At around 9:30 p.m., the explosive ordnance disposal service from Hanover reached the dud that had been discovered near the H&R ChemPharm refinery. Around 4 p.m., people in the evacuation radius were asked to leave their apartments and houses. This also applied to those who are or could be affected by a corona infection, the community said. Accordingly, people who are in quarantine and their contact persons as well as residents who are considered suspected cases had to evacuate their homes. Defusing delayed In the evening, the evacuation area was moved again. As it turned out, the bomb had not been found directly on the refinery site. Thus, the evacuation ring had to be adjusted later. The defusing of the bomb was repeatedly delayed because there were still people in the evacuation area. Train traffic restricted on the Bielefeld-Hengelo route According to the municipality, those affected by Corona had to go to “other suitable accommodation” with an FFP2 mask and without contact with other people. For people who could not, the community provided special emergency shelters. Train traffic was restricted on the Bielefeld-Hengelo route, and a rail replacement service was set up. goal in World War II The region around Salzbergen has now been tested in terms of bomb clearance, said Mayor Andreas Kaiser. In the past, there had already been evacuations after the discovery of duds from the Second World War. Because of the refinery, the site had been bombed several times during the war.