WWII bomb
June 2, 2010
Three members of a bomb disposal squad were killed and six others injured late Tuesday as they prepared to defuse a bomb left over from World War Two.
The bomb was uncovered by a construction crew working on a sports stadium in the central German city of Goettingen.
A similar bomb was dug up last week on the same site but was successfully disarmed without incident.
According to police reports, the device exploded as the bomb squad prepared to begin the actual defusing. At the moment there is still no explanation why the bomb went off.
An evacuation of around 7,000 residents in the area had already begun at the time of the explosion. Two schools and several businesses remain closed near the site of the explosion as police search for clues to the cause of the blast.
Unearthing undetonated "dud" bombs from World War Two is a relatively common occurrence in Germany, and most are disarmed without incident.
mz/Reuters/DPA
Editor: Kyle James