Bomb find in Dresden: Ten thousand residents have to leave their homeland!

On Wednesday, a aviation bomb from the Second World War was discovered during the demolition work of the Carol Bridge in Dresden. The excavator driver came across the British 250-kilogram bomb, which was on the old town side of the Elbe around 8:30 a.m. As a result of the find, the police are planning to defuse the dud on Thursday.

A radius of about a kilometer around the site is provided for the evacuation. Around ten thousand residents, traders and hotel guests are affected by these measures. The restricted zone comprises parts of the historic city center, including the important sights in Zwinger and Frauenkirche, as well as parts of the Dresden Neustadt and government building such as the Saxon State Chancellery and the state parliament. Two Elbe bridges as well as business and shopping streets also fall under the evacuation measures. The people concerned must leave the area by January 9, 2025, 9:00 a.m.

further measures and backgrounds

In order to offer accommodation to the evacuated persons, emergency accommodation is set up on the exhibition center. The bomb is discovered as part of demolition work that was necessary after some of the Carol Bridge collapsed on September 11, 2024. The collapse was caused by corrosion and moisture during the construction phase and the fatigue of tensioning steels. For the reconstruction of the bridge, costs of at least 140 million euros are expected, whereby the planning should be based on the collapsed structure in order to avoid an elaborate planning approval process. In the past few years there have been findings of World War II bombs in Dresden, including last in September 2023 on Washingtonstrasse.

Further details on the current precautions regarding the bomb find can be found in the reports of ksta.de and saechsische.de become.