Unexploded WWII bomb unearthed, halting Paris trains, roads

A half-ton bomb found near the tracks of Paris’ Gare du Nord train station on Friday forced the city’s high-speed trains and busy ring road to close. Workers found the unexploded ordnance while digging Thursday night, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said. Bomb disposal workers arrived on the scene and authorities established a large safety perimeter around the bomb, according to a translation of Tabarot’s French-language interview.

Gare du Nord is usually the busiest train station in France. The Eurostar high-speed rail service canceled all scheduled trains to and from Paris through the Channel Tunnel. It apologized for the disruption and asked customers to reschedule journeys for a different date.

How often do unexploded bombs from the world wars cause disturbances? Bombs rarely are found in high-traffic areas or present an urgent threat, according to France’s Départment du Déminage, which oversees bomb removal. Since 1945, the department has defused more than 700,000 aircraft bombs and removed at least 13 million mines.