Koblenz: Air bomb near Pfaffendorfer Brücke is blown up

Von Kl Redaktion

In the urban area of ​​Koblenz, the discovery of an aviation bomb, which was found during construction work on the Pfaffendorfer Brücke, ensures excitement. The bomb, which is particularly difficult with a weight of 250 kilograms, was safely transported to the Schmidtenhöhe on Thursday evening, where it is now to be blown up in a controlled manner. The city of Koblenz has informed the public about the steps of the ordnance clearing service (KMRD) on its website and emphasizes that the area in which the explosion will take place is guarded by the forces of the regulatory office.

The planned explosion takes place on Friday, with buried the bomb, then covered with about 250 tons of sand and finally blown up in a controlled manner. A radius of evacuation of 500 meters is set up around the explosive point, which leads to the temporary closure of the Schmidtenhöhe. This area is usually a popular place for local recreation, and the blocking measures are necessary to ensure the safety of residents.

challenges in defusing

It was originally planned to defuse the aviation bomb on Tuesday. However, this plan had to be canceled after several hours. As the city of Koblenz announced, parts of a detonator remained in World War II behind, which could not be removed. This was a considerable risk, which led to the decision not to defuse the bomb in a conventional way. Instead, the city immediately ordered measures to blaze into a controlled demolition to get the threat out of the world.

Sven Rusehorn from the KMRD commented in a conversation with the SWR about the safety of the explosion. He explained that the ignition mechanism could only be triggered if there was a lot of strength on the bomb. Even irregularities on the transport route, such as potholes, are classified as harmless. In his assessment, Rusehorn described a serious car accident as the only scenario that could endanger an ignition of the bomb. To prevent such scenarios, security measures would be taken.

According to the city administration,

Koblenz has so far not carried out any controlled blasting of a flying bomb. The process, on the other hand, is not unusual in other cities. In Rüdesheim, the population only experienced a similar situation in July, and in Neuwied there was also an explosive on the Rhine in 2018. These incidents show that dealing with contaminated sites from the Second World War in Germany continues to be an important challenge.