World War II biggest bomb explodes underwater during attempt to defuse it

The biggest World War Two bomb ever found in Poland exploded underwater on Tuesday (October 13) while being defused by Polish sappers.

Navy divers on Monday began a five-day operation to defuse the largest unexploded World War Two bomb ever found in Poland, forcing more than 750 people to evacuate their homes.

The bomb was found in the Piast Canal which connects the Baltic Sea with the Oder River, and was dropped by the RAF in 1945 in an attack on the German cruiser Lutzow.

The site is near the town of Swinoujscie in northwest Poland where a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal was opened in 2016.

Dubbed the "earthquake" bomb, the Tallboy bomb was used by Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) and weighs nearly 5,400 kg, including 2,400 kg of explosive, the Navy said on its Facebook account.

The spokesman of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla, Second-Lieutenant Grzegorz Lewandowski told the state-run news agency PAP that the object can be considered as neutralized, it will not pose any more threat and all mine divers were outside the danger zone.

Swinoujscie contains a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal but a spokesman for the town's mayor told PAP no-one was injured and no infrastructure had been damaged.

The Piast Canal connects the Baltic Sea with the Oder River on Poland's border with Germany. The bomb was dropped by the RAF in 1945 in an attack on the German cruiser Lutzow.