1,000 locals evacuated while 500kg WWII bomb is defused
Around 1,000 residents of Rieme, a village in the East Flemish municipality of Evergem, had to leave their homes for a time on Saturday while bomb disposal experts defused a Second World War bomb. The American bomb that contained 500kg of explosives was unearthed several days ago, but the authorities decided to wait until the weekend before getting it defused in order to prevent schools and businesses from having to close.
On Saturday afternoon the bomb disposal service DOVO went to Rieme to get the job done. As the bomb was positioned vertically in the ground the task of making it safe was particularly tricky.
While the bomb disposal operation was taking place the residents of around 400 homes in the area were evacuated. Traffic in the immediate vicinity was diverted. This wasn’t the first time that a Second World War bomb had been unearthed in Reime. Due to its proximity to the Port of Ghent it was often subject to Allied Bombing during the Germany occupation.
Once it was defused the bomb was taken to a safe place in the nearby port where it was detonated in a controlled explosion.