WWII bomb shuts down German autobahn

Cape Town – The controlled detonation of an unexploded WWII British bomb has shut down a section of the German autobahn.

The Local reports that traffic was jammed up to 20km and police encouraged commuters to take the train.

After an attempt to chemically defuse the bomb failed, the detonation crews performed a controlled detonation, leaving a 2-3m deep hole in the road.

The bomb, which had a 300m blast radius, was found beneath the flight path to Frankfurt Airport and necessitated the closure of a part of the runway.

A similar procedure was performed early in 2013 when German sappers successfully defused a 100kg World War II bomb unearthed near Berlin's main train station, AFP reported.

According to the report, authorities believe there are still around 3 000 bombs buried beneath Berlin alone, six decades after the war.