Overview

• The devices—a pair of 20-tonne and one 10-tonne US-manufactured bombs with impact fuzes—were uncovered on June 2 during construction near the Deutz ship works.
• Officials evacuated roughly 20,000 people from a 1,000-metre radius covering the Old Town, three Rhine bridges, 58 hotels, a hospital, museums and two care homes.
• Bomb disposal experts began operations on June 4 with plans for a controlled detonation if safe defusal proves impossible.
• The exclusion zone halted tram services, closed key bridges and rail lines, and forced broadcaster RTL to shift its studios to Berlin.
• Authorities aim to complete disposal by Wednesday night to allow residents to return, pending successful neutralization of all devices.