Between 10 and 15% of bombs dropped on Germany in world war 2 didn’t explode.
About 250,000 remain, 5000 are unearthed and disarmed each year.
Occasionally, someone unearths one and it explodes.
Yesterday, in Euskirchen, a digger operator working in a crushing and grading plant hit a biggie which killed him, injured 12, broke windows in a 1km radius and registered as a 0.6 earthquake 40km away.
“Close to home” because Ms jb’s maternal grandfather (the family lived/still lives in a small village just outside Euskirchen) was killed in a bombing raid on the Euskirchen railway station in September 1944.
Went to work, never came home.
Elisa, his 23 year old daughter and my lovely (late) mother-in-law, rode her bike into town to make sure that he was alright and was held back by his workmates.
Much as I miss her (and I miss her like Christmas and birthdays rolled into one…), I’m glad she didn’t experience yesterday.
Can’t begin to imagine the pain it would have dragged out the recesses of her subconscious….
You Must Be From Away 
The ravages of war are endless. Too many innocent lives are lost and continue to be affected.
Yes I can imagine your late mother-in-law’s distress at this story had she still been in this world. Dreadful story.
The situation is the same in France. Same sort of figures I think. Bomb diggers are very experienced and they usually manage these nasty things really well. Yuk. We have to send them big thanks for the work they do.
I remember when I was growing up there were lots of stern recommendations about not touching funny-looking metal pieces you found in the countryside… our holiday spot was Britanny and there were lots of German-built bunkers along the coast. Fun places to explore when you’re a kid.