250-Kilo Bomb Found in Oranienburg: 860 Residents Must Leave Exclusion Zone

Detonation Instead of Defusing

The exclusion zone includes a secondary school, a refugee accommodation, a TÜV site, and several commercial businesses. The roughly 300 students of the secondary school had a day off from school on Tuesday, as the city announced: „die 300 Schüler hätten heute schulfrei, hieß es von der Stadt". The other facilities located within the exclusion zone were also affected by the evacuation.

Preparations for defusing began in the morning. „Am Morgen begannen die Vorbereitungen für die Entschärfung." However, the city administration announced that the unexploded ordnance cannot be defused as planned. „Der Bombenblindgänger, der in einem Waldstück bei Oranienburg (Landkreis Oberhavel) gefunden wurde, muss nach Angaben der Stadtverwaltung gesprengt werden." The reason is the installed fuse. „könne deshalb nicht wie geplant entschärft werden", erklärte die Stadt. The bomb „verfüge über einen chemischen Langzeitzünder".

The unexploded ordnance was discovered during a regular search, that is, as part of the usual systematic search for munitions from World War II. „Der Blindgänger war bei einer regulären Absuche" aufgefunden worden, erklärten die Behörden. Such scheduled search operations take place regularly in the region.

Oranienburg as a Focal Area

Oranienburg is considered one of the most heavily bomb-contaminated regions in Germany. „Bundesweit gibt es kaum eine Region, die derartig durch Bomben mit chemischen Langzeitzündern belastet ist wie Oranienburg." The reason is special soil conditions: „Im Zweiten Weltkrieg war unter anderem wegen besonderer Bodenverhältnisse in Oranienburg ein Großteil der Bomben nicht explodiert, sodass eine hohe Zahl an Blindgängern im Boden vermutet wird." For this reason, searches continue to be conducted regularly in the surrounding area.

Traffic and Further Measures

Rail and bus traffic are not affected by the closure. „Der Bahn- und Busverkehr ist nicht betroffen, er läuft uneingeschränkt weiter." Commuters were also able to bypass the area via rail traffic without entering the exclusion zone.

„Rund um den Fundort wurde ein Sperrkreis mit einem Radius von 800 Metern eingerichtet." Within this radius, all apartments and businesses had to be evacuated. „Es würden nun alle nötigen Vorkehrungen getroffen." These included barricades, informing residents, and preparing the controlled detonation by the ordnance disposal service.

Residents in the wider surrounding area were made aware of the seriousness of the situation via loudspeaker announcements and the city's information channels. After the detonation, the area is expected to be reopened on the same day, as soon as specialists have inspected the operation site for possible damage, according to sources close to the city administration.