Munich WW2 bomb blows up near station, wounding three

Three people were hurt, one seriously, when a World War Two bomb blew up on a railway construction site in the German city of Munich.

The fire brigade says it happened during drilling work near Donnersberger Bridge, close to the main station.

As a result rail traffic in much of Munich has come to a standstill.

Unexploded wartime bombs are frequently found in Germany and prompt big evacuations, but most are defused by experts without exploding.

Local reports described a loud bang followed by a column of smoke. An excavator was overturned by the force of the blast.

Emergency services rushed to the area and bomb disposal experts were quickly at the scene examining the remains of the bomb.

Rail operator Deutsche Bahn suspended travel to and from the central station.

It is not unknown for entire towns to be evacuated in response to the discovery of old World War Two bombs, usually dropped by British and US forces.

Seventy thousand people had to leave their homes in Frankfurt in 2017 when a 1.4 tonne British "blockbuster" bomb was discovered.