World War II bomb in Osnabrück defused: 11,000 people turn home!

World War II bomb in Osnabrück defused: 11,000 people turn home!

Osnabrück, Deutschland - in Osnabrück, on June 17, 2025, there was great excitement when a 500-kilogram World War II bomb was discovered and finally defused. This dangerous discovery was carried out in building work in the Lokviertel and led to an extensive evacuation of around 11,000 people, and around 6,500 households were affected. The evacuation was originally supposed to be completed at 7 p.m., but was delayed and only began at 10:30 p.m., such as reported.

In order to ensure the security of the residents, an evacuation radius of one kilometer was set around the bomb. In addition to the Lokviertel, this also included the city center, Fledder and Schinkel. The main train station, which is in the affected area, was also affected. From 7 p.m. there were no more trains at the main train station, which made the Situation considerably more difficult for travelers. Already from 10 p.m. all ICE and IC trains were diverted, which led to delays of up to 40 minutes. Regional trains were also deducted, instead there was replacement traffic on buses.

The city of Osnabrück ensured that both maps and street lists were provided on their website so that citizens could find out about the current situation. The citizens' phone was available for questions and for patient transport at (0541) 323 44 90. However, it was not without difficulty: some residents refused to leave their apartments or tried to break barriers. The ordnance clearing service decided that the defusing of the bomb had to take place on the same day to avoid possible dangers.

These problems are not new for Osnabrück. In the past, there have been several bomb clearing in the Lokviertel, and the city expects other blind accommodation. A similar bombing was recently carried out in Cologne, in which more than 20,000 people were affected. According to Deutschlandfunk it was the most complex action since World War II.