Salerno

Unexploded World War II bomb prompts mass evacuation in Salerno

italySalerno, Italy - Some 5,000 people on Tuesday began moving out of their homes in the southern Italian town of Salerno after builders discovered an unexploded World War II bomb.

Officials ordered residents, living within 250 metres of the construction site where the 230-kilogram device was found, to evacuate their homes while explosives experts decided what to do with it, the ANSA news agency reported.

Salerno's Mayor Vincenzo De Luca said that while he hoped the device would be disposed of "as soon as possible," people would probably only be allowed to return to their homes from Sunday afternoon.