Air traffic was stopped and around 400 people were evacuated from their homes in Hamburg on Wednesday evening, when a bomb from World War II was to be defused.

The work proved more difficult than expected due to the location of the bomb. The risk of explosion was considered high, reports the German newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost.

The A7 motorway through Hamburg was closed, as were several other major roads. The airspace over Hamburg airport was closed and no planes were allowed to take off or land.

The 500-kilogram bomb was found during excavation work. Findings of so-called duds, or unexploded bombs, are not uncommon in Germany. In Hanover, over 16,000 people were evacuated in September, and in Frankfurt, tens of thousands were forced to leave their homes during a disarmament operation in July.

Source: TT