Lublin: A major evacuation operation was set in motion in the Polish town of Lublin after the unsettling discovery of a 250-kilogram unexploded bomb from World War II. The alarming find led to the immediate evacuation of over 14,000 residents residing within a specific radius of the bomb site.
The unexploded bomb, which dates back to World War II, was stumbled upon during construction work on a Friday. Swiftly, authorities took action, cordoning off the area where the bomb was found. To ensure residents’ safety, people were relocated to local schools and other substantial buildings. As a precautionary measure, individuals were also advised to switch off utilities such as electricity, water, and cooking gas before moving to secure locations.
Expert teams worked diligently to remove and neutralize the potentially dangerous bomb. Thankfully, their efforts were successful, and the evacuation order was lifted later on the same day, allowing residents to return to their homes.
Lublin, historically targeted during World War II between 1939 and 1945, bore the brunt of intensive bombings due to its strategic significance. The city held an airport, aircraft factory, and endured Nazi German occupation, complete with a prison and labor camp.
This occurrence is not isolated, as instances of unexploded World War II-era bombs have been uncovered in Poland in the past. Just last month, during the renovation of a primary school in central Poland, unexploded artillery shells from the Second World War were unearthed. Similarly, the previous year, nearly 30,000 inhabitants of Wrocław, Poland’s third-largest city, were evacuated when a 500-kilogram World War II bomb was discovered.