Evacuations as WWII bomb found

Hundreds of tenants had to leave their homes temporarily after a World War Two (WWII) bomb was found.

The US American aerial bomb weighing 250 kilograms was discovered by workers engaged in the construction of Vienna’s new main train station yesterday afternoon (Tues). Around 200 residents of housing estates in the city’s Favoriten district were asked to leave the area for around half an hour. The interior ministry’s explosives division defused and removed the object.

Only in February, tenants from approximately 100 flats located near the same large building site were evacuated following the discovery of a 250-kilo aerial bomb.

The construction site on the grounds of the former Südbahnhof southern station has a size of 109 hectares, making it as large as the city’s Josefstadt district. The station will be in full service in 2015. The newly created business, public transport and living area will also include flats and a school campus.

Managers of the Wien Museum consider the site of the new Hauptbahnhof station as a possible location for their institution which is currently situated at Karlsplatz Square in the city centre.