A giant German bomb belonging to World War II era was found at a harbour in England during dredging work on Thursday. Shops and restaurants were evacuated after the live unexploded bomb was found at Portsmouth Harbour, Hampshire.
The bomb weighed 500kg and was dislodged from the seabed. The entrance to the harbour was being deepened to be able to park the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier, 65,000 tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth, next spring, Sky News reported.
The Gunwharf Quays retail complex spokesperson said that they were told to evacuate the area.
Authorities will be disposing the bomb through controlled explosion at sea 2.4km east of the Isle of Wight. It was supposed to take place early on Friday morning. The retail complex was reopened at 8am local time, Sussex News reported.
"An unexploded German 500kg bomb has been found on the seabed in Portsmouth Harbour," a Royal Navy spokesman said. "The device was located by a barge carrying out dredging works. A controlled explosion will be carried out between 10am and 11am by Royal Navy bomb disposal experts," he said.
This is not the first World War II era explosive that has been found during harbour clearing operations. A torpedo was found earlier in September, which too was exploded at sea.
