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BERLIN - Thousands of people were being evacuated from central Cologne in western Germany on Wednesday following the discovery of three wartime bombs, in what the city authority called the largest such measure since the end of World War II.
An evacuation zone with a radius of 1,000 metres will be cleared from 8am (0600 GMT), impacting around 20,500 residents as well as many workers and hotel guests in the city's historic old town and popular Deutz district, a statement from the authority said.
Three American bombs from World War II, each with impact fuses, were discovered during construction work on Monday in Deutz, a bustling area on the bank of the River Rhine.
A team of bomb disposal experts plans to disarm the ordnance later on Wednesday, the statement said.
Unexploded bombs are often found in Germany, which had many of its major cities bombed to ruins during the war, and such operations often go smoothly.
The evacuation area includes one hospital, two retirement homes and nine schools, as well as 58 hotels and many museums.
"Everyone involved hopes that the defusing can be completed in the course of Wednesday. This is only possible if all those affected leave their homes or workplaces early and stay outside the evacuation area from the outset on that day," the city authority said in a statement appealing to residents to follow instructions.
The measures caused major disruptions to transport in and out of the city of over a million people, with Germany's national rail operator warning that many trains would be diverted or possibly cancelled.
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