Powerful explosive found in Kaunas

VILNIUS – A powerful explosive was found on Monday night in a residential quarter of Kaunas. About 100 people were evacuated from the area, and traffic was temporarily closed off.

In addition, the school in the area did not conduct classes.
A man building a porch on his home on Sunday found a German SD500C bomb that had been planted during World War II. The explosive weighed 500 kilograms and could have gone off at any time.
According to experts, had the bomb exploded it would have formed a hole that would have measured up to 80 meters across. Aftershocks from the explosion would have been felt two kilometers away.
Attempts by experts to remove and neutralize the explosive did not succeed. The neutralizing works became particularly dangerous when various vibrations and surrounding dirt began to sprinkle over the explosive.
At 3 a.m., about 100 people were evacuated from their houses that surrounded the location. According to officers, most people did not realize how dangerous the situation was and complained about being forced to leave their homes in the middle of the night.
The Defense Ministry concluded that a secure removal of the explosive from the area was impossible and therefore decided to demolish the bomb in the residential quarter itself. The neutralizing procedures lasted up until late Monday afternoon.