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Nearly 10,000 affected by double WWII bomb disposal near Berlin

The Local Germany
The Local Germany - [email protected]
Nearly 10,000 affected by double WWII bomb disposal near Berlin
Oranienburg's hospital will be closed during the disposal. Photo: DPA

Nearly 10,000 residents in Oranienburg in Brandenburg will be affected, as will regional train services.

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Two 250-kilogram World War II bombs will be diffused on Thursday in Oranienburg, a city of just over 40,000 residents just outside of Berlin.

A barricade circle of about 1,000 metres  will be set up at 8am in order to diffuse the two dud bombs, which were discovered two years ago during a systematic search for war ammunition.

Oranienburg was bombed particularly heavily during World War II, although recently WWII bombs have also been discovered in western German cities such as Frankfurt and Essen during construction projects.

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about WWII bomb disposals in Germany

The dud bombs, two 250-kilogram American-style bombs with intact, chemical long-term detonators, were discovered around the industrial Lehnitzstraße.

Approximately 9,500 residents will be affected. Additionally, Oranienburg’s main train station, the hospital, several Kitas and schools, as well as a care home will be temporarily closed, likely until 5pm.

The city has set up three contact points for residents and affected persons, which are open from 8am: the gymnasium of the Germendorf primary school, the Regine-Hildebrandt-Haus and the gymnasium behind the city administration building.

Since the main train station is also affected by the diffusal, regional and S-Bahn traffic will be interrupted. A substitute bus service will be set up for the S-Bahn between Oranienburg and Birkenwerder.

Berlin's S-Bahn provides a map of the affected transport. 

The S1, RE 5, RB 20 and RB 12 will all be disrupted. A substitute bus service will be set up between Oranienburg and Birkenwerder and between Birkenwerder and Borgsdorf.

If the bombs could not be defused, exploding them could not be ruled out, the city announced.

Also in Brandenburg on the Havel, a city of 70,000 people, ammunition discovered during the same search is slated to be blown up or removed on Thursday.

Starting at 8am, a barrier circle of 800 meters is to be established, which extends partly over the Quenzsee. About 70 residents will be affected by the evacuation, the city said.

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