Fifteen couples were waiting for the special moment when they would say “I do” for weeks. But on June 4, his weddings were canceled at the historic Town Hall in Cologne, as the building was correct in the middle of a withdrawal area.
But they were still able to get married, instead in a district town hall.
Three bombs survived by World War II were responsible for mass withdrawal, the largest Sion 1945. They were found during the preparation for construction work on the city’s Deutz bridge. The US-made bomb-one 100-pound (45 kg) and two 200-pound bombs were impact fuses and could not be transferred for security reasons. They were to be defined on the site, and thus it was necessary to vacate several districts of the city in the northern Rhine-Westphalia in West Germany.
Thousands were evacuated
On Wednesday, about 20,500 people had to leave their homes. Hospitals and retirement houses were evacuated, in which people were taken to other facilities. Around 60 hotels were closed, in which guests were adjusted elsewhere.
Bomb settlement is a huge logistic function, but Germany is very familiar with it. More than 1,600 bombs were defined last year in Northern Rhine-Westphalia alone. As the construction work in the city increases, for example, to insert new fiber optic cables, renewing bridges or implementing road networks, the excavation is bringing to the unexplained aerial armament light that is returning to the 1930s and 40s.
Major problems in Hamburg, Verdun, Poland
The metropolitan region as Hamburg and Berlin Search were some of the main goals of bombing the friendly countries during World War II. Civil infrastructure was seen targeted at these places and hence was especially impressed. In addition to the northern Rhine-Westphalia state, Brandenberg is highly contaminated. In 2024, 90 mines, 48,000 grenades, 500 firebombs and 450 bombs in explosive orders clearrs were found with about 330,000 shells with over 11 pounds.
The problem is universal in many neighboring countries. The unexplained armament from two world wars is often found in France and Belgium, and especially from the world I was in the fields of Wordun and Somme. Three years ago, a draw in the PO Valley of Italy revealed the unexplained bomb. In the UK in 2021, a German 2.200-Pound aerial bomb was exploded in a controlled explosion in the South-Western city of Exeter and more 250 buildings were damaged.
The position in Poland and the Czech Republic, where tons of tons from two world wars in the ground are important, is therefore important. In 2020, a 5-ton British-manufactured Talaboy bomb was defined in the Northwestern Polish city of Swinaujsi. Recently, there have also been fatal accidents in the Czech Republic.
And in the balcony, life is threatened by unexplained armaments that return to the wars of the 1990s and withdrawal occurs a frequent phenomenon.
Deadly threats in Vietnam, Laos, Gaza
On other continents of the world, the situation is therefore important. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, people are killed by the US-made cluster bombs that were used in the 1960s and 70s. According to the United Nations, from 500,000 US attacks conducted secretly between 1964 and 1973, 80 million in Laos remain in the unexpected armament land.
Syria and Iraq have tonnes of unexpected armaments, where people are at risk of killing or injuring mass. Neither Ordnance settlement structures have been adequately developed in the country.
The United Nations says that the war -torn Palestinian region of Gaza in the war -torn Palestinian region has already surpassed deadly threats, even Israel has continued to bomb the bandage.
A quarter of Ukraine contaminated
The situation in Ukraine is dramatic. Since the full -scale invasion of Russia in 2022, about a quarter of the country is considered contaminated with mines, cluster bombs and other explosive devices.
More than half a million explosive devices have already been defined, but millions of people remain more. Humanitrians and economic results are very large: hundreds of citizens have died, large area of agricultural land is unusable, and crop failures are increasing the economic crisis.
When the war ends, one of the years to come will be.
German federal state costs are brunt
In Germany, where most of the bombs are deemed, they are from World War II and created by the Allies, it is federal states that tolerate the majority of their disposal costs. It is the German state responsible for the German-made bombs that are returning to the era of the German Reach (1871–1945). Atempts have so far failed to make it responsible for all unclear bombs in Germany. Last year, the cost of explosive ordeal disposal costs Northern Rhine-Westphalia € 20 million ($ 23 million).
While the cost increases, the technology used for bomb settlement has developed. While in the 1990s, Clearrs still used their hands, hammers, chisel and water pump Sarauta, today abrasive water jet cutting is used to neutralize explosive devices. A waterJet cutter that operates at a safe distance, can cut through the explosive device and remove its fuse.
Experts believe that there are thousands of unexplained explosive devices up to 100,000 tonnes in Germany alone.
Even though modern investigation and detection techniques and digital air photographers can help reduce risk, every bomb settlement is a race against operational time. The old bomb is, the higher the risk of rust and explosion. Therefore it is more difficult to define the old bomb because due to the chemical changes occurring over time inside the bomb between casting and fuse.
Lack of three bombs in colon is not just an operation that has interrupted weddings and daily routines of people, but it is once again a witness to the destruction of war, whether Germany or France, Vietnam or Laos, Syria, Ukraine or Gaza.
This article was translated from German.
