Authorities said traffic was stopped at one of France’s busiest railway stations on Friday after a World War II bomb exploded north of Paris, after an unexploded World War II bomb exploded.
The bomb was discovered in the outskirts of Saint-Denis, an overnight track leading to Gare du Nord, a major Parisian bus hub serving northern France and Europe.
“Traffic since this morning and from Gare du Nord has been completely interrupted,” the French national railway company SNCF said in a statement.
The bomb was about three feet long, including 400 pounds of explosive material, and was found about a mile and a half at about 3:30 a.m., the company said. Workers were beautifying a bridge renovation site when a mobile machine exposed the bomb, which was buried six and a half feet underground.
The company said about an hour later, the minesweeper crew arrived and a large safety perimeter was established.
Traffic on the highway and commuter rail stopped for several hours. All Eurostar trains connecting Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam to London, Brussels and Amsterdam have been cancelled, leaving travelers stranded at Gare du Nord, which serves more than 226 million passengers in 2023.
In Europe, construction workers encounter undeveloped conflicts during the 20th century conflict, which is not uncommon, and the French Railways said the region where the latest bombs were found was “known for their bodies of World War II.”
Last month, 175 practice bombs used for training during World War II were found under a children’s playground in northern England. In 2018, thousands of people were evacuated in Berlin after the discovery of 1,100-pound World War II bombs.
“This doesn’t happen every day, but it happens,” said Fabien Villedieu, leader of the National Railway Workers Union SUD track, who shared a photo of a bulky, cylindrical, rock-fixed bomb on X.
Mr Villedieu said he had received images through an internal information sharing system for railway workers, noting that the unexploded equipment was about 600 feet from a busy Express Road in Paris.
“It’s in the heart of the city,” he said.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot told SUD Radio that there is no “no worries” about this situation, but authorities are taking all necessary precautions to safely remove the bombs.
“Cleaning out abandoned luggage occasionally, but it’s quite rare for World War II bombs,” Mr Tabarot said, adding that he expected train traffic to be disturbed throughout the day.
