Tens of thousands of people were on Saturday being evacuated from the western German city of Koblenz where a large World War II bomb has been discovered. The 1.8-ton bomb that is believed to have been dropped by the British air force and a second smaller bomb were found in the Rhine river, prompting the biggest evacuation in Germany since the war.
The operation to diffuse and remove the bombs is scheduled to get underway at 3 pm (1400 GMT) Sunday. Up to 45,000 people have been ordered to leave the area. They were being housed at schools and other shelters. Around 2,500 people are involved in the operation, with rescue workers countrywide on standby in the event of an explosion.