On the 25 December 2016 German construction workers unearthed a massive WWII British bomb.

In what has become the biggest evacuation for an unexploded bomb (UXB) since the end of the war, the country relocated some 54,000 individuals from more than 32,000 households so that Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) experts could operate within a cordon of 1.5km.

At approximately 7pm the British bomb had been defused with Augsburg’s mayor confirming – “Aircraft bomb disarmed — these brave men are the real heroes of this historical day. Thank you deep down from the heart,” Gribl said on his Twitter account.

Augsburg bomb
Police cars and an ambulance are seen beside a road block on an empty street in augsburg, southern germany, during a mass evacuation on christmas day.

German authorities had previously decided to wait until Christmas as there was no immediate danger from the British bomb.  In Germany, as with many other Christian countries, families hold their main festive celebrations on Christmas eve.

More than 70 years after the end of the second World War, unexploded ordnance (UXO) is still causing problems across Europe.

In August 2015, a 250 kilogram (550 pound) bomb was discovered on a construction site in East London, forcing a late-night evacuation while it was defused.

One year earlier, in January 2014, a bulldozer struck an unexploded bomb in Euskirchen, Germany, killing one person and injuring others.

– Brimstone, with excerpts from CNN