Explosive experts safely detonated a WWII-era bomb at a chemical plant in northwestern Czech Republic on Friday.
Czech explosive experts detonated a World War II-era bomb on Friday at a major chemical plant in the northwestern Czech Republic.
Authorities confirmed the bomb was discovered during routine construction work on Aug. 21 at the facility, which belongs to the Polish oil company PKN Orlen.
582 people were evacuated at the scene.
The controlled explosion, though significant, resulted in minimal immediate damage, with only a few broken windows reported.
Buried deep within the plant grounds, the 550-pound bomb was equipped with a chemical apparatus intended to delay its detonation.
This mechanism—a rare and complex feature designed to detonate the bomb hours or even days after it was dropped—added an extra layer of difficulties.
Delayed-action bombs are particularly dangerous to defuse because they can be unstable and may detonate unexpectedly if disturbed.
