Earthworks are being carried out on the Deutsche Bahn premises in Cottbus. Test drilling for explosive ordnance is carried out by a specialist company. A Russian-made World War II bomb weighing around 100 kilograms was found 1,000 meters away Photo: dpa
From BZ/dpa
After a World War II bomb was found at Cottbus main station, the emergency services began evacuating the restricted area on Tuesday morning.
The teams are currently being divided up for this, the city announced on Twitter in the morning. “Everything is going according to plan.” Around 3,800 people will have to leave their apartments and houses in the next few hours.
The Froebel elementary school and an intensive care facility in the restricted area are also affected by the evacuation. Around 150 forces are in action.
For those who cannot stay with relatives or acquaintances, the city of Cottbus has set up emergency accommodation in the Glad-Haus on Straße der Jugend and a shuttle service there.
Cottbus has set up a restricted area Photo: City of Cottbus Screenshot
The station building and the Bunter Bahnhof/Spreewaldbahnhof area will also be closed from the morning. From 12:00 p.m., rail traffic will be temporarily suspended.
The explosive device weighing around 100 kilos with a Russian detonator was discovered several days ago during construction work near the water tower.
It was still unclear in the morning whether the bomb had to be rendered harmless by detonating it.