Trending
Hours of travel delays end as authorities defuse unexploded WWII bomb near Paris’ Gare du Nord

Published
1 week agoon
By
Ekwutos Blog
The disposal of what Parisian police called an “excessively dangerous” unexploded World War II bomb, caused hours of transportation chaos on Friday on rail and road networks in the French capital.
The disruptions affected both domestic and international trains, with Eurostar high-speed services operating out of Paris’ busy Gare du Nord station to Brussels and London being suspended.
The bomb was dug up overnight, workers labouring on a bridge replacement project spotted the rust-eaten, dirt-covered bomb just before dawn. It was found by an earth-moving machine, which dug it out from a depth of about two metres, between train tracks to the north of Gare du Nord.

FILE – The Gare du Nord train station is pictured on Jan. 11, 2023 in Paris Michel Euler/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved.
French national railway operator – SNCF – notified emergency police units of their discovery, and reported the suspicious object as a potential bomb. Upon closer examination, authorities did confirm that it was in fact a WWII era bomb.
“They just discovered a bomb, an object that seemed a bit strange to them on their site,” said Christophe Pezron, who heads the Paris Police Laboratory – including bomb disposal services.
“A team was sent out immediately, and we identified it as a 500-kilogram English bomb, an extremely dangerous object.”

This photo provided by the Paris Police Prefecture shows a huge unexploded World War II-era bomb that caused transportation chaos in Paris, March 7, 2025 Prefecture de Police/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved.
Authorities say the bomb could have caused major damage had it exploded after workers inadvertently dug it up. They also noted that the task was delicate and required serious expertise to handle with care and urgency.
“It’s always risky. It’s always dangerous to handle something that fell 4-thousand meters from a plane, that contains almost 300 kilos of explosives, and that didn’t work,” added Pezron.
“We don’t know why it didn’t work. So, yes, it’s dangerous, but it’s really the de-miners’ expertise that makes it possible to tackle and handle these objects.”

Travelers wait as Eurostar trains to London and all trains heading to northern France have been brought to a halt following the discovery of an unexploded bomb Christophe Ena/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved.
The bomb was dug up near train tracks north of Paris, forcing a shutdown of the rail network serving Gare du Nord. A portion of the A1 highway – a major road artery into northern Paris – was also closed while police disposal officers worked for approximately 12 hours.
“We’re delighted and relieved that all this has come to an end,” Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot was able to finally declare Friday afternoon — 12 hours after the bomb-disposal police were first called — as roads reopened and rail services were progressively being restored.
“All of the northern part of our country was paralysed,” noted Tabarot.

This photo provided by the Paris Police Prefecture shows police disposal officers near a huge unexploded World War II-era bomb that caused transportation chaos in Paris Prefecture de Police/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved.
Some 500 trains were cancelled in the process, impacting around 600,000 travellers in Gare du Nord alone. Trains carrying passengers from the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium were also suspended, impacting even more travellers.
“I’ve had a long day because I got up before 6 o’clock this morning and got the train from Penzance (Cornwall) to Paddington (London) to catch the Eurostar,” said Tony, a traveller from the UK.
“A lot of the systems that Eurostar are using have crashed. So these are, they did send an email saying the train, you know, about the WWII bomb, and they cancelled the trains. But the link, you couldn’t get through to it because it had all crashed, so really I’m just sitting here (thinking) what to do really.”
“We had to get off in Brussels and so now we are in line trying to figure out how to get to Paris, we’re not sure how we are doing it yet, but we would like to get there today, if possible,” said Gabrielle Cotton, an American tourist, traveling from Amsterdam.

A view of a departures board at St Pancras International station in London, Friday March 7, 2025 James Manning/AP

Passengers queue and wait near departures for Eurostar services at St Pancras International station in London, Friday March 7, 2025 Frank Augstein/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved
France is no stranger to unexploded WWI and WWII bombs. Authorities regularly locate and destroy them – but, they’re usually not found in busy and urban areas.
Police say the bomb identified was a 500kg English bomb from WWII, the largest calibre bomb the Allies used from their arsenal which was consisted of 125, 250 and 500 kg bomb.
The bomb located near the Parisian train station is capable of causing extensive damage. Experts say a single bomb has a damage radius exceeding 1,000 metres. Authorities are thankful the lengthy defusal operation was successful and a major tragedy was avoided.
France’s Interior Ministry says that 700,000 air-dropped bombs and nearly 50 million mines, shells and other explosive devices were defused by disposal teams since the end of the Second World War. It is not clear how many WWI and WWII bombs are still left.
You may like
Mysterious radio signals discovered in ‘unprecedented’ part of space
Two injured as petrol tanker collides with Mercedes van in Oyo
How Rivers Govt can approach S’Court judgement on allocation stoppage – Farah Dagogo
Nollywood Star Sharon Ooja Pens Heartfelt Tribute to Husband Ugo Nwoke on His 50th Birthday
Rapper DDG Announces Shocking Plan to Trade America for Lagos, Nigeria
Cars, buildings destroyed as fuel tanker explodes on Otedola bridge in Lagos state
Trending
Newly married couple d!es in Otedola Bridge gas tanker explosion

Published
2 days agoon
March 15, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
A newlywed couple, Dozie and Joan Okoye, d!ed in the gas explosion on the Otedola Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It was gathered that the couple got married on February 22, 2025.
According to reports, Dozie and Joan were on the way home when their phone lines suddenly became reachable.
After searching for them at the Burns Center in Gbagada and Yaba Mortuary, their charred remains were finally found on Wednesday evening.
The only identification was their car’s registration number, which was found among the burnt vehicles.
The explosion, which occurred at 8:08 pm on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, was caused by a 30-tonne tanker carrying gas products, said to be owned by a nearby gas station.
The blast severely affected a Dental Clinic, while the generator house and security post of a nearby church building also sustained significant damage.
Responders recovered four charred bodies, including that of an auto mechanic identified as Rotimi Adeleye.
Trending
Provide evidence or drop allegations against Akpabio, Adeyanju tells Natasha

Published
2 days agoon
March 14, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has called on Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) to present concrete evidence to back her allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Adeyanju stated that without verifiable proof, Nigerians should not dwell on the matter.
He urged the public to focus on more pressing issues, such as the Tax Reform Bill and its potential impact on low- and middle-income earners.
According to him, solid evidence would lend credibility to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims and warrant public scrutiny of Akpabio’s actions.
However, without such proof, the allegations remain unsubstantiated.
Adeyanju also argued that the controversy had been overflogged and should be resolved in court.
He criticised the selective outrage over the issue, noting that there was little public reaction when lawmakers received luxury cars and budgetary allocations.
He also questioned why the same senators now engaged in the dispute did not oppose the anti-people policies of the current administration.
“The question I have asked is this: when all these anti-people policies of the Tinubu government were being implemented, why didn’t these senators—who are now fighting over allegations of sexual harassment and concerns about ’embarrassing the Senate’—speak out against them?”
“When lawmakers were sharing cars in the National Assembly, there was no fight. When they were distributing money and budgetary allocations, there was no fight. But now, suddenly, we are hearing about a fight.”
Adeyanju further stated that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan should, as a matter of necessity, make public credible evidence to support her claims, especially since she has been denied a fair hearing in the Senate.
He said, “Senator Natasha has alleged that the Senate President tried to sexually harass her. Since the Senate has refused to give her a fair hearing, she should present credible evidence to back up her claim.”
“It’s very simple. The man has denied the allegation. So, if there are messages—perhaps invitations or suggestive remarks—she should reveal them and expose him. After all, he who alleges must prove.”
Trending
Pandemonium struck after a 31-year-old man, identified as Ajayi Nicholas, allegedly slumped and died inside a sex worker’s room at New Kutunku community in Gwagwalada Council Area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Published
3 days agoon
March 14, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Pandemonium struck after a 31-year-old man, identified as Ajayi Nicholas, allegedly slumped and died inside a sex worker’s room at New Kutunku community in Gwagwalada Council Area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A resident of New Kutunku, Josiah Gabriel, told Ekwutosblog that the incident happened last Saturday around 5pm when the deceased allegedly checked into a hotel room in the area.
According to him, the man allegedly slumped when he was about to leave the room and the woman rushed to alert the manager of the hotel.
He said the hotel manager identified the deceased and rushed to report the incident to his relations, who are residing within the area.
Gabriel said the deceased was taken to a nearby hospital where he was confirmed dead.
Meanwhile, the corpse was taken away and deposited at the morgue for autopsy by policemen who arrived the hotel, while the lady in question was detained by the police.

Abuja International Conference Center Built In 1991 For N240m Is Being Renovated In 2025 For N39b BY Wike…

2027: I’ll support anyone willing to leave office after four years – Kenneth Okonkwo

Igwebụike in action! Pre-colonial Igbo society’s remarkable approach to community development, where every man was a landlord.
Trending
- Trending5 months ago
NYA demands release of ‘abducted’ Imo chairman, preaches good governance
- Politics1 year ago
Nigerian Senate passes Bill seeking the establishment of the South East Development Commission.
- Business5 months ago
US court acquits Air Peace boss, slams Mayfield $4000 fine
- Politics5 months ago
Mexico’s new president causes concern just weeks before the US elections
- Entertainment5 months ago
Bobrisky transferred from Immigration to FCID, spends night behind bars
- Entertainment5 months ago
Bobrisky falls ill in police custody, rushed to hospital
- Politics5 months ago
Russia bans imports of agro-products from Kazakhstan after refusal to join BRICS
- Politics5 months ago
Putin invites 20 world leaders