Poland: Locals Return Home After WWII Bomb Removed

Locals from the Polish city of Bialystok have returned to their homes, after they were evacuated over the weekend following the discovery of a massive, active, World War II bomb.

The 500 kilogram bomb was unearthed late on Thursday, by workers assigned to a road project in the city. Bialystok is the largest city in northeastern of Poland and lies close to the Belarus border.

Authorities told the press that the bomb in question was identified as a German ST-500 bomb.

These bombs were used in World War II to obliterate the buildings surrounding the area in which they were dropped.

Many of these bombs, intended to blow up when dropped, failed to explode and thus have been left underground for decades.

However, this does not make them less dangerous. In fact, experts have warned that these unexploded bombs are more dangerous now, 70 years later. This is because they have become more unstable due to corrosion over the years.

After the discovery of the bomb, local authorities evacuated more than 10 000 people in Bialystok, as well as the neighbouring county of Suprasl, to schools where they would wait until the bomb was safely removed.

Local police gave the all-clear for residents to return on Sunday, after specialists managed to removed the bomb.

According to a police spokesperson, the bomb was loaded onto a truck and driven to special testing range where it will be destroyed.

This is not the first World War II bomb to be found in recent times across Europe.

In 2015, British workmen discovered a 50 kilogram German bomb near Wembley Stadium in London, and a 300 kilogram bomb in the east of London.

Similar bombs have also been found in Germany and Belgium.