Bomb find in Cologne: 5200 residents evacuated, defusing in night

Bomb find in Cologne: 5200 residents evacuated, defusing in night

On Monday evening, May 28, 2025, a five-century bomb from the Second World War was discovered during construction work on Hardefuststrasse in Cologne Südstadt. The bomb flabor with rear impact ignorer was a significant danger, which is why a radius of evacuation of 400 meters was set up around the site. Around 5,200 residents were affected and had to leave their apartments, while the Cologne fire brigade supported the regulatory office in the evacuation. The discovery of the bomb flabor was around 4 p.m. when the polishing of the construction site on the suspicious metal body pushed under the chain vehicle. The residents were only able to return in the early morning after the bomb had been successfully defused, ksta.de .

The evacuation and the subsequent defusing drew over several hours. During this time, 51 sick or handicapped people were brought from the evacuation area with patient transports. A central point of contact for the evacuated was set up in the gymnasium of the vocational college on Humboldstrasse, whereby the residents were asked to take important personal objects such as medication and documents. However, pets had to stay outside, which brought some affected people into a difficult situation. On Tuesday morning at 6:30 a.m., the ordnance disposal service received the release for defusing, which was necessary, since the pressure of the chain vehicle on the bomb required an immediate measure, such as WDR reported.

background and dangers of blind passers

duds are not detonated ordnance that have not exploded after their use. The causes include technical failure or unfortunate operating conditions. In Germany, the defusing of blind passengers is a significant problem, since estimates were 10 to 20 % of the bombs dropped in the Second World War. The city administration currently estimates that around 300,000 such duds are still in the ground. Jan Leipertz from the Cologne Ordnungsamt assumes that it will take another 70 to 80 years for the majority of these hazardous substances to be recovered. Since 2014, the city of Cologne has documented every find in a dashboard and has recovered almost 450 ordnance in the past eleven years, as described on Wikipedia

The defusing of blind passers is complex and can vary depending on the construction and condition of the explosive body. Security radii are determined to protect the residents from possible explosions that, if defusing is not possible, can also be remedied by controlled explosions. In Germany, specialists defuse around 5,500 of these dangerous objects annually.

The city of Cologne is constantly confronted with the topic of unexploded companions, which shows how deep the scars of the Second World War are still anchored in the urban landscape and which comprehensive measures are necessary to ensure the safety of citizens.