Mainz evacuates, defuses WWII bomb ahead of soccer match

After discovering an unexploded World War II bomb during construction work on Wednesday, the city of Mainz has announced plans to defuse it on Friday. The 500-kilogram American device was found before evacuating the local area, which extends approximately 750 meters from its location near Bundesliga soccer club Mainz 05’s MEWA Arena. In response to the discovery, Mainz 05 relocated their weekly press conference on Thursday instead of Friday when a professional team will work to defuse and dispose of the bomb. The stadium shop is also closed during this time. When addressing CNN Sport, an official with the club declared that there are no intentions or preparations whatsoever for Sunday’s match against FC Köln to be impacted by the discovery as they currently sit outside of the relegation zone on goal difference at 15th in the league. Approximately 3,500 people have been affected by the evacuation order, and it is yet undisclosed when it will resume operations due to unease from still discovering abandoned ammo or bombs during construction projects being commonplace enough for companies to hire private bomb disposal teams beforehand in Germany. The defusing process began at midday local time on Friday.