World War II bomb deactivated in Berlin

Berlin, June 15 : Bomb disposal squads on Saturday deactivated a 100-kg explosive dating back to the World War II that had been found in Berlins Alexanderplatz square.

Police announced at 1 a.m. that they successfully detonated the bomb in a controlled explosion, reports Efe news.

The bomb was found on Friday evening at a construction site nearby a commercial area located in Alexanderplatz, the centre of the old eastern part of the German capital.

In a precautionary measure, the telecommunications tower, one of the city's main touristic attractions, was closed to the public.

Operations to deactivate bombs dropped by the Allies during World War II are relatively frequent in Germany and on some occasions prompt massive evacuations.

It is believed that there are over 3,000 explosive devices, grenades or projectiles buried in Berlin, according to the police figures released in 2017.

The biggest bomb-deactivation operation so far has been carried out in Augsburg in 2016, when 54,000 locals had to temporarily leave their houses to allow police to disable a British bomb.