Some 20,000 people will have to evacuate their homes in Berlin on Friday after two unexploded Second World War bombs were found in the German capital.
Government buildings were shuttered late Thursday after police confirmed a 1940s-era bomb had been recovered from the Spree river earlier in the day.
Around 7,500 people were told to leave Fischerinsel, south of the river, and police went door-to-door asking locals in the touristic Mitte district to leave.
Residents in the densely populated area around the bomb were told to leave over the ‘mortal danger’ of a potential explosion, according to an emergency advisory notice.
A 500 metre exclusion zone was set up around the explosive, including Berlin’s city hall. Police confirmed early Friday that the evacuation was complete.
Queues formed around emergency shelters set up in Mitte town hall and a nearby school as subways and streets were closed, German outlet DW reported.
A Berlin police spokesman gave the all clear early on Friday and said that the bomb did not need to be defused.
A second bomb from the war weighing 100kg was recovered a day prior, on Wednesday, in the Spandau district, and was due to be defused today.
Police cordon off an area in Fischerinsel over an undefused bomb, on September 19, 2025
Around 12,400 people will be required to evacuate from the area around that explosive while the bomb is defused.
A local gym was opened as an emergency shelter for evacuees, local media reports.
Authorities reasoned that the bomb did not pose an immediate threat and could be defused at a later time after its recovery on Wednesday.
The Spree bomb was found near the Fischerinsel, covered in silt and slime, and under four metres of water, during preparation for construction work in the capital.
Checking for unexploded munitions is common in German cities ahead of large projects, DW reports.
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