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Cologne in turmoil: 20,000 have to leave their homes because bombs are found!
In Deutz, Cologne, 20,000 citizens have to be evacuated to defuse bombs. Impairments in long-distance transport expected.
Cologne in turmoil: 20,000 have to leave their homes because bombs are found!
There is no reason to relax in Cologne at the moment - quite the opposite! The city is in turmoil because three bombs from the Second World War are being defused today. A truly historic event that affects not only local residents but also all public transport in the region. The first evacuation measures have already begun.
Deutsche Bahn has canceled several connections from Cologne to Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart. Long-distance trains that were supposed to travel via Cologne are being diverted on a large scale, and even shipping on the Rhine is temporarily stopped. According to Deutschlandfunk, around 20,000 people from a radius of 1,000 meters around the site in Deutz have to leave their homes. In addition to local residents, this also affects thousands of commuters whose mobility is restricted by the evacuation.
Large evacuation operation in Cologne
The first round of bells began at 8 a.m. and the streets around the old town were rigorously closed. “There’s something going on!” commented a passer-by on the situation. The entire old town and large parts of Deutz are affected by the measures. There are not only numerous hotels and museums here, but also retirement homes, daycare centers and even the television station RTL. The wedding ceremonies that were planned for this Wednesday in the historic town hall also had to be moved to Porz.
Municipal contact points are available for evacuated citizens. The exhibition hall 10.1 on the right bank of the Rhine and the Humboldtstrasse vocational college on the left bank of the Rhine serve as accommodation. However, pets must stay at home. Anyone who needs specific information can contact the citizen hotline on 0221/221-0 or 115, which is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., as Tagesschau reports.
More than just a traffic challenge
Cologne main station is not part of the exclusion zone, but there are massive disruptions at other stations such as Köln Messe/Deutz and the Hohenzollern Bridge. According to Tagesschau, important connections, including the Deutz/Tief stop in Cologne and several ICE Sprinter trains between Cologne and Berlin, are canceled. Buses and trains operated by the Cologne Transport Company (KVB) are also affected; massive disruptions are expected.
The defused bombs consist of two American 20-pound bombs and one ten-pound bomb, all with impact detonators. It remains unclear when exactly the defusing can take place and when the closures will be lifted. But the city is confident that the defusing can be successfully completed on Wednesday.
Similar situations are also known in other German cities. An aerial bomb was recently successfully defused in Teltow, after which the evacuated residents were able to quickly return to their apartments, as RBB24 reports. In Cologne, however, many are still facing uncertain times. What is certain is that the memories of the war are far from over after all these years.