The disposal of what Paris police called an “excessively dangerous” unexploded World War II bomb on Friday caused hours of transportation chaos on rail and road networks in the French capital, including the suspension of high-speed train links with the UK and other parts of Europe.
After moving the bomb into a hole, disposal experts unscrewed and destroyed its fuse, “like you see in the movies,” said Christophe Pezron, who heads the Paris Police Laboratory, which handles bomb disposal.
He said that the 500kg British-made bomb could have caused major damage had it exploded after workers inadvertently dug it up with an earthmover.
Photo: Prefecture de Police de Paris via EPA-EFE
However, the operation to defuse the bomb triggered major disruption for hundreds of thousands of rail travelers and motorists.
The bomb was dug up near train tracks north of Paris, forcing a shutdown of the rail network serving Gare du Nord, France’s busiest station. A portion of the A1 highway — a major road artery into northern Paris — and sections of the capital’s busy beltway were also closed while bomb disposal officers worked.
“We’re delighted and relieved that all this has come to an end,” French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot said on Friday afternoon — 12 hours after the bomb-disposal police were first called — as roads reopened and rail services were progressively being restored.
Photo: AP
The minister said that almost 500 trains had been canceled, affecting about 600,000 people at Gare du Nord.
At Eurostar’s hub in London, St Pancras International station, passengers scrambled for alternatives. Paris-bound passengers were advised to try taking trains to Lille, France, or fly.
Bride-to-be Charlotte Liddell had a bachelorette party — her own — to get to in Paris and wanted to join friends already in the French capital.
“It’s the hen do without the hen,” she said. “We’re very upset, but it’s so out of our control.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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