6,000 evacuate as WWII bomb defused outside Paris

PARIS: Around 6,000 people were evacuated from a Parisian suburb during the defusing of a World War II bomb that was discovered last week, local media reported Sunday.

The Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt was evacuated Sunday morning so a team of experts could defuse the 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) bomb without the threat of having any civilian casualties, Radio France Internationale reported.

Local authorities checked each house within the 400-meter (1,300-foot) danger zone to make sure no resident was still in the area when the defusing began at around 11 a.m. local time.

The bomb was found on January 27 on a building site where several Renault factories used to operate. During World War II, the factories were bombed on a number of occasions as they supplied the German occupying force.

(BNO NEWS )