World War II bomb found near urban park construction site

A bomb dating from the Second World War was defused on Thursday October 26, not far from the construction site of an emblematic new urban park near the Greek capital. Others could be found nearby, according to local authorities. The recovery of the machine from the site of Hellinikon, the former international airport of Athens, required closing one of the busiest highways leading to the capital for almost two hours, and evacuating four buildings , authorities reported.

Giorgos Papanikolaou, the mayor of the town of Glyfada, located in the suburbs of the capital, said at the scene that the nearly 230 kg bomb had been successfully defused. “According to what we have been told, there could be others”, he warned. The Hellinikon site was bombed by planes of the Allied forces during the Second World War to prevent the construction of an airstrip during the occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany. It then became Athens’ historic airport, until its closure in 2001. The 200-hectare site was reconverted to now accommodate the Ellenikon Metropolitan Park, which the government presents as one of the largest urban parks in Athens. ‘Europe.