Thousands of Parisians evacuated while WW2 bomb detonated on siteJust nowAlicia CurryPrefet De PoliceThousands of people evacuated from a north suburb of Paris as a World War Two device was rendered safe Sunday. Residents in Colombes who lived within a radius of 450m of where the device had been found last month were instructed by police to leave by 07:00 local (05:00 GMT) as authorities carried out an bomb disposal operation. The Prefet des Hauts-de-Seine confirmed that the operation was “carried-out successfully” and that the evacuation order was lifted early on Sunday evening. The bomb was discovered in April during construction on Rue des Champarons. The authorities secured the site, covered the device in sand, and prepared for its removal. Local official Alexandre Brugere warned that the operation would be “risky”, and would require a “high degree of preparation”. Nearly 800 police officers enforced the 900m wide evacuation zone. A second, wider zone extending a kilometre away from the bomb’s position allowed residents to stay indoors, but restricted outdoor activities. The controlled detonation was conducted by bomb disposal experts at 15:20 Sunday. The evacuation order was lifted just after 16:00. Undetonated WW2 Bombs are still being found across Europe 86 years after the war began.
