WWII bomb explodes near Munich train station

Construction workers inadvertently triggered a 550-pound World War II bomb while working on a bridge near a busy railway line in Munich on Wednesday morning. The blast, set off by a drilling crew, injured four people, one seriously. Trains suspended service for the morning, and some local trains evacuated passengers at the Donnersbergerbruecke station. Bavaria’s state interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said authorities will investigate why the bomb was not discovered before construction started.

Is this common? German officials find roughly 2,000 tons of live explosives every year. They estimate at least 15 percent of World War II bombs did not explode during the war more than 70 years ago, and many remain buried underground. Usually, investigators scan construction sites for hidden bombs first and then detonate any in a controlled explosion.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report on an unexploded WWII bomb found in London last year.