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Over 4,000 people affected by World War II bomb found in Essen

The Local Germany
The Local Germany - [email protected]
Over 4,000 people affected by World War II bomb found in Essen
A police vehicle in Essen. Photo: DPA

A World War II bomb found during construction work will be defused on Monday, affecting residents in the area surrounding it.

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For language learners: we've highlighted some useful vocabulary in this news story. You'll find the German translations at the bottom of the article.

Roads have also been closed off. The highway A52 was closed at the ‘Essen-Ost’ junction around 11 a.m. as work began to defuse an unexploded ordnance found on Wednesday in Essen during construction work.

The American unexploded bomb was found near the Alfried-Krupp Hospital, reported RP Online.

A partial evacuation of the hospital occurred Monday afternoon in order to defuse the bomb, the city of Essen of North Rhine-Westphalia announced.

According to the city, 908 people in the inner circle - where the hospital is located - and 3,355 people in the outer circle were affected. Patients were transferred to other areas of the building.

Within a radius of 250 to 500 metres of defusing work, residents in the area were told they must stay in parts of the building facing away from the site, or in a cellar, while the bomb is disabled.

In this area, the Office of Public Order also advised that cars are removed from the road as a precautionary measure.

The city was set to announce more precise details about the restricted areas, and the time of the defusing measures, during the course of the day.

It is common for construction work in Germany to yield finds of World War II bombs, as it has recently in Frankfurt and Cologne.

Normally the diffusing of such bombs is done safely and quietly, although last Friday a bomb found in Lower Saxony shattered windows as it was defused. No one was injured in the blast.

SEE ALSO: WWII bomb detonated in Lower Saxony, shattering windows

Vocab

Closed (or blocked) - gesperrt

To defuse - entschärften

Unexploded bomb - Blindgänger

Inner circle - Inneren Kreis

Hospital - Krankenhaus

Residents - Anwohner

More precise details - genauere Details

in the course of the day - im Laufe des Tages

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating relevant vocabulary from our news stories of the day. Did you find articles like these useful? Do you have any suggestions? Let us know.

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