Sunday, near Paris, deminers carried out the controlled detonation of a World War II explosive device, after the evacuation of several thousand people, according to an AFP journalist.
Almost 800 police officers sealed off the site, located in the north-western suburb of Colombes, where the device was found on April 10 during construction work. The device measured 1.06 meters in length without its tail fin and 33 centimeters in diameter.
An AFP journalist heard the explosion around 3:20 pm local time when the deminers detonated the bomb in a two-meter-deep pit.
Authorities confirmed the successful operation.
The controlled detonation was ordered after an initial unsuccessful attempt to extract the detonator from the device, which measured over a meter in length, not including the rear part.
Images of the operation showed the heavy, rusty metallic relic resting at the bottom of a sandy pit firmly sealed with thick, raw wooden planks embedded in front of concrete walls. Significant covering work was then required to contain the blast of the detonation.
A dull noise followed by heavy echoes reverberated for hundreds of meters around the empty streets of this town located west of Paris while a drone flew over the site to inspect the crater and ensure complete security of the area.
Residents living within a 450-meter radius were asked on Sunday morning to go to local reception centers. Authorities plan to allow them to return to their homes later in the day. Some local roads were closed to traffic and public transportation.
On Thursday, Alexandre Brugere, a local official, described the operation as “risky” and emphasized the need for “meticulous preparation.”
Unexploded World War II munitions are still being discovered across Europe, particularly in Germany where bombs are regularly unearthed on construction sites, 80 years after the end of the conflict.
The neutralization of such remnants in dense urban areas recalls the shutdown of the Gare du Nord in Paris in March 2025 after a 500-kilogram bomb was found, requiring the evacuation of schools and residents under the supervision of 300 police officers.
