Italian city evacuates 54,000 people to defuse WW2 bomb

Around 54,000 people were evacuated from Brindisi in southern Italy on Sunday, December 15, as experts worked to defuse a World War 2 bomb, authorities said.

According to Press TV, experts were operating a robotic machine with the help of Italian soldiers near the area where they believe the bomb was located. Local media said the operation was the biggest peacetime evacuation in Italy, with more than 60% of the city's residents forced to vacate a "red zone" in a radius of 1,617 metres from where the bomb was found.

The British bomb, believed to have been dropped on the city in 1941, is believed to be one metre long and contains 40 kgs of dynamite, authorities said. It was found by chance last month during refurbishment works at a cinema theatre.

The city's airport, train station, two hospitals and a prison were shut down and evacuated as part of the operation, which authorities expect to be completed around lunchtime.

ME