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The German city of Cologne said that three unexploded World War II bombs were found earlier this week<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Before the combs could be defused on Wednesday, June 4, more than 20,000 people had to be evacuated from the area<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Officials said at the time that the evacuation was the largest operation since the end of World War II<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The German city of Cologne announced that three unexploded bombs from World War II, which were discovered earlier this week and prompted evacuation orders for over 20,000 people, have now been defused.<\/p>\n
In an announcement on its website<\/a>, the city said that the bombs were disabled at 7:19 p.m. local time on Wednesday, June 4.<\/p>\n \u201cExperts from the Rhineland Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service of the D\u00fcsseldorf District Government had rendered them harmless,\u201d the city\u2019s update read.<\/p>\n The city said that its roads and bridges are being gradually reopened and residents can return home. However, traffic disruptions are still to be expected.<\/p>\n The announcement brings an end to a saga that began on Monday, June 2, when three unexploded bombs were found<\/a> in the Deutzer Werft area of \u200b\u200bCologne-Deutz. They consisted of two American 20-ton bombs and one American 10-ton bomb \u2014 and they all had impact fuzes.<\/p>\n At the time, officials said that the bombs were scheduled to be defused on Wednesday \u2014 and that the danger zone, with a radius of 1,000 meters, was going to be cordoned off and evacuated.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason for this decision is that critical infrastructure is affected, which cannot be evacuated so quickly,\u201d the city said at the time. \u201cThis includes the Eduardus Hospital and two nursing and retirement homes. These require sufficient lead time to evacuate themselves and with the assistance of the Cologne Fire Department.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout 20,000 people registered [in the danger zone] will be affected by the evacuations,\u201d city officials wrote.<\/p>\n The evacuation orders also impacted rail service and shuttered churches, event venues and nine schools and various daycare centers. Additionally, some city services were unavailable or postponed.<\/p>\n Officials said at the time that the evacuation was the largest operation since the end of World War II<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone involved hopes that the defusing can be completed by Wednesday,\u201d city officials said. \u201cThis will only be possible if all those affected leave their homes or workplaces early and stay outside the evacuation area from the outset.\u201d<\/p>\n