Germany: WW2 bomb forces hospital evacuation
April 3, 2020
Two hundred patients at a hospital in western Germany were evacuated on Thursday after a huge World War II bomb had been found on the grounds.
The 227-kilogram (500-pound) aerial explosive was discovered during construction work at the Bonn University Clinic a day earlier.
Among the intensive care patients, who had to be evacuated, there were 11 people who are critically ill with COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
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Most of the patients were moved to other parts of the hospital, but some were transferred to other hospitals. Some 150 emergency services personnel were roped in to help.
Local authorities also ordered 1,200 local residents to evacuate. Teams of workers visited people door to door asking those who are currently under German lockdown measures to stem the spread of the virus, to temporarily vacate their properties.
A 500-meter area around the hospital was sealed off for several hours.
The bomb was successfully diffused on Thursday afternoon.