An unexploded World War II aerial bomb recovered from the Rhine River in the German city of Cologne on Wednesday evening was safely defused overnight on a ship positioned away from residential areas, city officials said.
The discovery of unexploded bombs is common in Cologne and other German cities, and specially trained teams safely defuse or detonate the bombs.
The bomb weighed 5 tons and had a fuse installed in the back that was defused on board the ship, according to the Cologne city administration. The city said there was no need to evacuate residents to defuse the bomb, despite initial assumptions, as the ship was moved to a location on the Rhine River far enough away from residential areas. During the operation, the Rhine River was closed to shipping traffic as well as the airspace over the area.
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