German city evacuated over WWII-era bomb

BERLIN - Officials in Germany's western city of Koblenz say some 45,000 residents have to be evacuated as officials try to defuse a World War II-era bomb discovered in the Rhine river.

City officials said Saturday the massive British 1.8-ton bomb will be defused early Sunday, requiring all residents within a radius of about 1.2 miles from the bomb site to leave their homes for the day.

Officials say seven nursing homes, two hospitals and a prison are also being evacuated.

Train and road traffic in the area, some 80 miles northwest of Frankfurt, will come to a halt.

The British bomb was found last week alongside a 275-pound bomb dropped there by U.S. forces during WWII, after Rhine's water level fell due to lack of rain.