LONDON (AP) – A World War II-era bomb whose discovery sparked the largest peacetime evacuation in British history has exploded at sea, the Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
The explosives, weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), were discovered Tuesday in the backyard of a house in the port city of Plymouth on England’s southwest coast.
More than 10,000 residents were evacuated to safety while a military convoy carried the unexploded ordnance through a populated area to a ferry dock and from there to the sea.
Emergency crews converged on Albert Road near the Torpoint Ferry crossing in Plymouth. An object believed to be a World War II explosive discovered in a garden in St Michael Avenue, Keyham, Plymouth, will be disposed of at sea, where it will be taken by military convoy to the Torpoint Ferry airstrip. become. Photo date: Friday 23 February 2024 (Photo credit: Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)
“I think it’s no exaggeration to say that these next few days will go down in Plymouth’s history,” Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans said.
A major naval base for centuries, Plymouth was one of Britain’s most heavily bombed cities during World War II.
According to local officials, 1,174 civilians were killed in 59 air raids. The attack destroyed approximately 3,800 homes and caused extensive damage to another 18,000.
