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Unexploded WWII bomb found at German museum site

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-25 19:00

BERLIN -- German police say a World War II bomb uncovered during construction at the Neues Museum in central Berlin has caused evacuations and traffic jams.

Related readings:  Unexploded Japanese WWII bomb

Police would not confirm reports that the apartment of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who lives nearby, needed to be evacuated.

A Berlin police statement says the 220-pound (100-kilogram) unexploded bomb appears to be a type used by the Russians during the war. Officers evacuated a 985-foot (300-meter) area around the bomb Friday afternoon, disrupting nearby train and streetcar service.

The statement said experts were working to dispose of the bomb Friday evening.

Unexploded bombs from World War II are still found frequently in Germany. Disposing of them sometimes involves precautionary evacuations like Friday's.