3,000 unexploded bombs may be buried in Berlin

January 6, 2015

There are still some 3,000 unexploded bombs left over from the Second World War buried underground in Berlin, according to city authorities.
No one is really sure how much unexploded ordnance is buried under the German city, but a new estimate by the Berlin senate put the figure at 3,000, BZ, a local newspaper, reported.

Since 1945, an estimated 1.8m explosive devices have been found in Berlin, but so much ordnance was dropped on the city by the Allies in the closing stages of the war that unexploded bombs are still being found today.

Last year alone, 54 tons of explosives were found in the city.

Some 3,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the suburb of Steglitz until a 1,100lbs (500kg) American bomb found there could be defused in June.

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And around 10,000 people had to be evacuated from the historic city of Postsdam, just outside Berlin, in December after a 550lb (250kg) bomb was found there.

The cityÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s main Tegel airport had to be closed to flights for half an hour after a bomb was found there last October.

It is not known where the remaining 3,000 bombs are, but airports, the railway network and factories were particularly targeted by the Allies, so those areas are thought to be at higher risk. There is also thought to be a lot of unexploded ordnance left over in BerlinÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s extensive forests.

After such a long time, there is thought to be little risk of the bombs being detonated unless they are disturbed, a police source told BZ, although bombs with a chemical fuse are an exception.