Disposal team prepares to defuse 500-pound World War II bomb found in Braunsbedra
Authorities in Saxony-Anhalt established a 500-meter exclusion zone around a railway bridge site on Landesstraße 178 to defuse an American aerial bomb.
Discovery at railway bridge site
Technicians identified an unexploded American aerial bomb during planned inspection work in Braunsbedra, situated in the Saalekreis district of Saxony-Anhalt. The explosive device was uncovered during routine preliminary checks for the construction of a new railway bridge on Landesstraße 178. District officials confirmed that the munition weighs 500 pounds and dates back to the Second World War. The state explosive ordnance disposal service, known as the Kampfmittelbeseitigungsdienst, scheduled the technical neutralization for Wednesday morning. Technicians plan to defuse the device directly on location by disarming both its front head fuse and rear tail fuse.
Security perimeter and business evacuations
The Saalekreis district administration ordered a mandatory safety radius of 500 meters around the bomb location on Landesstraße 178. Commercial enterprises and industrial businesses situated inside this perimeter must clear their premises before the disposal operation begins. District authorities confirmed that private residential areas fall entirely outside the restricted radius, so local residents do not face evacuation orders. The Braunsbedra town hall was established as an emergency evacuation shelter to host affected employees and workers during the operation. Municipal staff prepared the administrative building to accommodate evacuees until explosive ordnance technicians declare the site secure.
- Three American World War II bombs found and defused near town exit toward Krumpa
- Saalekreis authorities announce discovery of 500-pound American bomb on Landesstraße 178
- Bomb disposal service scheduled to remove head and tail fuses within 500-meter zone
Traffic diversions and public transport adjustments
The disposal work necessitates temporary closures across the surrounding transport network on Wednesday. Authorities planned roadblocks across all thoroughfares intersecting the 500-meter exclusion zone to secure the perimeter. To facilitate local traffic flow during the intervention, administrators suspended the standard one-way street rule on the designated detour route. Police personnel will direct traffic flow directly at intersections to guide vehicles through the alternate paths. Public transportation services face schedule disruptions and rerouting throughout the morning, prompting municipal authorities to urge passengers to verify current connection updates with local transit operators.
Pattern of wartime discoveries near Krumpa
The planned operation follows a similar munition disposal at the same infrastructure site. At the end of September, construction teams working on the railway bridge project along Landesstraße 178 discovered three separate American aerial bombs dating from World War II. Bomb disposal teams previously secured that site by enforcing an identical 500-meter safety perimeter near the town exit leading toward Krumpa. The latest discovery of a 500-pound munition requires the identical security measures and coordinated exclusion zone to neutralize the remaining wartime ordnance.
