500-pound WWII bomb unearthed in Slovakia sparks mass evacuations

A 500-pound World War II era bomb was recently found in Slovakia’s capital during construction in Bratislava on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

Emergency measures prompted evacuations from several blocks of adjacent areas and all traffic, including public transport, came to a halt during the morning rush hour.

According to CBS News, the bomb disposal experts are weighing whether to defuse the bomb, which somehow didn’t explode during WWII.

The Slovak Spectator reports that the former Apollo refinery near the site of modern day Apollo Bridge was targeted with several tons of bombs by Allied forces between June and September in 1944.

This isn’t the first time that a world war era bomb was found in Slovakia as another bomb was unearthed in 2021.

Jan Ferer, head of the bomb disposal unit said at that time, “The original wartime terrain is still here and the construction work in uncovering it,” adding the entire complex was buried by Allied bombing and subsequent flooding.

Slovakia was part of Axis powers, alongside Nazi Germany in WWII, many Slovak divisions participated in the invasion of Poland and USSR in Operation Barbarossa.

War time bombs are being found very frequently these days as in August, a WWII bomb was found during clearance operation for a collapsed bridge in Dresden, Germany.

Similar incidents have been reported in Cologne and Paris as well.