Airport closed as German bomb is found in the Thames
WORK is on to remove an 1100lb German Second World War bomb that has led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights and caused homes to be evacuated.
Metropolitan Police and Royal Navy experts will try to float the 5ft unexploded shell from its resting place in King George V Dock, east London.
Council officials were going door-to-door trying to persuade local residents to evacuate their homes until the bomb is moved, but were facing some resistance.
The discovery of the bomb caused the suspension of flights out of the nearby London City Airport, with more than 100 departures cancelled yesterday.
Among thousands of passengers affected were Tottenham Hotspur fans heading to Italy for a Champions League game against Juventus.
The north London football club advised any fans flying to Milan to “contact their airline as soon as possible”, ahead of the club’s match in Turin tonight.
Scotland Yard said: “The device has been examined by Met Police and Royal Navy dive teams and is confirmed as being a 500kg tapered-end shell, measuring approximately 1.5m.
“It is lying in a bed of dense silt and the first stage of the removal operation is to free the shell from the silt so it can be floated for removal.”
It added: “The timing of removal is dependent on the tides, however, at this stage we estimate the removal of the device from location will be completed by tomorrow morning.”
Some residents refused to leave when officials knocked on their doors in the early hours of yesterday, but the council said it would continue its evacuation attempts.