250 kilo bomb discovered in Böblingen: evacuation and A81 closure!

250 kilo bomb discovered in Böblingen: evacuation and A81 closure!

Things are currently heating up in Böblingen: a 250-kilogram aerial bomb from the Second World War was discovered at a construction site on the A81. This immediately led to a number of measures. The city of Böblingen announced that an evacuation radius of 400 meters had been set up around the site. Around 500 people, including citizens as well as hotel guests and people from the Wildermuth barracks, are affected. This almost chaotic situation also extended to the A81: the motorway has been closed in both directions since 10:30 p.m. Road users in the direction of Stuttgart must leave the A81 at the Böblingen/Sindelfingen junction and in the direction of Singen at Sindelfingen-Ost.

The S-Bahn lines S1 and S60 as well as regional and long-distance services between Böblingen and Sindelfingen/Stuttgart-Vaihingen are also stopped. It's always a battle against time when such dangerous finds come to light. The explosive ordnance disposal service plans to defuse the bomb at 11 p.m., causing massive crowds and some traffic diversions.

Evacuation and contact point

Areas particularly affected are the city centers of Böblingen and Sindelfingen, where, among other things, Motor World and parts of the Mercedes factory had to be evacuated. Despite the tense situation, vehicle production at the Mercedes plant continues as normal. A congress hall in Böblingen has been set up as a contact point for the evacuated people, but so far there have been no registrations. Questions about the situation can be answered by calling the citizen hotline 07031 669-888.

It is not the first time that such a find from the Second World War has caused a stir in Germany. It is estimated that there are currently between 100,000 and 300,000 tonnes of unexploded bombs buried in the ground. Around 5,000 of them have to be cleared every year. Typically, these dangerous explosive devices are often discovered during construction work and must be reported to the police immediately so that the necessary security measures can be taken, as ARD Alpha describes.

The danger of old bombs

These bombs are often unpredictable because the explosives are more than half a century old. Even a small vibration can lead to a detonation condition. In order to minimize the risks, the ignition mechanism is treated with the greatest care when defusing, because the different types of detonators each pose different challenges. To ensure that no unpleasant surprises occur, a security radius is set within which a blocking takes place.

This shows once again how important it is for authorities and specialists to work together to defuse such dangers. After all, no one wants to see the day when the old explosive device goes off. In Böblingen, the situation has now affected the entire transport infrastructure, but the authorities' security measures ensure that everything remains under control.

All those affected can only hope that the defusing goes quickly and smoothly so that everyone can soon return to their usual everyday lives. Will we still see normal travel on the A81 or even quiet nights for people in the area? This kind of unrest is not without consequences.

For further information on this topic, you can read the reporting from SWR and SWP.