World War II bomb successfully detonated in Jenaer Paradies

Angler had reported suspicious object in the water the day before

In the early morning of June 9, a phosphorus bomb from the Second World War discovered in the Saale was detonated in Jenaer Paradies. An angler had reported a suspicious object in the water on the banks of the UniverSaale School to the Lower Water Authority the day before. They alerted the fire department at around 17:00. The emergency services discovered an unknown container in the water, from which a milky liquid escaped on contact and outgassed on the surface. The school and the Salü restaurant were immediately evacuated and the surrounding paths and the sports bridge were closed by the police.

As explosive ordnance could not be ruled out, no salvage was carried out by local forces. The specialist company Tauber from Nordhausen was called in. The special forces then confirmed the suspicion of an INC 30 phosphorus bomb.

Targeted destruction on site

The demolition expert from the Thuringia Explosive Ordnance Disposal Department then decided to carry out targeted destruction on site. The police and the ZEVD evacuated the Rasenmühleninsel and the USV site. Two cars had to be towed away. Kommunalservice Jena installed two containers to protect the buildings.

The blasting was then carried out at around 01:30. The subsequent checks revealed no damage in the surrounding area. School operations can therefore resume on Thursday.

A total of 60 members of the professional and volunteer fire departments, 35 police officers, the Tauber company, the ASB care team, the KSJ and ZEVD Jena were deployed.

Head of Security Benjamin Koppe took a look at the situation on site.

Some of the forces were on duty for more than eight hours. I would like to thank our comrades for their perseverance. The incident shows how present the dangers of old ammunition are. The all-clear cannot be given for a long time yet.