Cologne Germany: Around 20,000 people evacuated from popular European city after unexploded WW2 bombs discovered

Two 1,000kg and one 500kg American devices were discovered on Monday. The size of the bombs means that a 1,000m danger zone has to be cordoned off and closed. It's the biggest ever post-war evacuation in the city.

Officials have been going door to door checking that businesses and houses in Cologne's Old Town and Deutz areas are empty. Nine schools, 58 hotels, a hospital, the main city hall and the area close to Cologne's famous UNESCO-listed cathedral are among the numerous places temporarily off limits.

Two shelters have been set up for those affected. It's reported that 1.5 million bombs were dropped on Cologne during the Second World War.

Experts estimate around 20% didn't fully detonate. Some of these so-called "duds" still lie unexploded beneath the streets and have prompted numerous evacuations over the years.

In 2024, 31 bombs were found in the city, requiring 17 evacuations, impacting more than 36,000 people. City officials have told Sky News that the plan is to try to defuse the bombs.

If that isn't possible, then another option would potentially be to detonate them safely. This would be a much larger operation and require sand and water to be brought to the area to help limit the blast damage.