Three killed by World War II bomb in Germany

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100602/world/germany_bomb

Three killed by World War II bomb in Germany

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2 hours, 57 minutes ago

BERLIN (AFP) - A World War II bomb has killed three people who were trying to

defuse it and injured six others in Goettingen, central Germany, police have

said.

The incident occurred on Tuesday as specialists tried to make the 1,000-kilo

device safe after workers discovered it while undertaking construction on a

sports stadium.

All the victims were involved in the demining operation, said a police

statement, which offered no further details.

Bombs left over from the war are routinely discovered in Germany, with no less

than four being found over the past two months in Berlin alone, according to

press reports.

[Guest guest]

Many millions of shells were fired in WWI and 10% or more were believed to be duds, perhaps much higher. Hundreds of shells are dug up by farmers each year and parts of some battlefields are simply off limits because of the number of unexploded shells in those areas, it being easier and safer to fence those places off than clear them. WWII also so many shells but also all the bombs. No idea what the failure rate on the bombs was, but German artillery in particular had many duds because the slaves making them would sabotage their work as much as they could get away with.

Even around here Civil War shells are found now and then. These are really dangerous because the black powder in them is unstable and much easier to set off than the high explosives used in WWI and WWII.

In a message dated 6/2/2010 12:45:33 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Three killed by World War II bomb in Germany