Up to 1,000 people have been evacuated from the city of Marseille in France after a one-ton World War II German bomb was found buried nearby.
Boat traffic into the port city has been halted and access to several coastal roads blocked. Officials were set to remove the bomb and take it to a military base where it could be detonated.It was discovered a week ago by construction workers who accidentally pierced the explosive with their back hoe.
The regional government says the bomb’s ignition system no longer works but the sheer amount of explosives – 1,400 pounds (650 kilograms) – made it dangerous. The bomb was apparently buried by German soldiers, who had planned to destroy the city’s port, as they retreated near the end of the war…