Following the successful detonation of the 500-pound bomb on the construction site of the future Amazon site by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service of Lower Saxony, the evacuation order for the affected area has now been officially lifted.

All residents can return to their homes. Businesses are also accessible again. The emergency services on site would like to thank all citizens for their level-headed and prudent behavior during the evacuation!

The emergency services leave the danger zone. The blast will be clearly audible in a few minutes.

The water bubbles to dampen the explosion are filled. The blasting will take about 30 minutes.

The blasting will take about 40 minutes. Preparations are still necessary on site!

The area is evacuated. A helicopter now flies a final check flight, then the unexploded ordnance is detonated in about 10 minutes!

The evacuation of SZ-Watenstedt has been completed. The evacuation of the businesses is still ongoing. As soon as this has been completed, the blasting will be cleared. In all probability, this will not be the case before 9 pm.

Emergency shelter ready for use and evacuation still ongoing

The operational command of the Salzgitter professional fire department has announced that the emergency shelter for the evacuated citizens in the Hallendorf gymnasium has now been set up. On-site support is being provided by the local fire department and the DRK.

The fire department's rescue team is working with the police to check that all buildings have been evacuated. The evacuation of the businesses in the area is also currently underway.

Water bladders are also currently being filled with a total of 40,000 liters of water. These are being placed around the blast site on the Amazon construction site to absorb the pressure of the blast.

Private apartments and houses are affected! Various roads will be closed.

The detonation of the unexploded bomb by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service of Lower Saxony is still necessary today due to the ongoing construction work. This is scheduled to take place from 8 pm.

To rule out any danger, the area within a radius of 1,000 meters around the site must be evacuated by 19:30 at the latest. This measure particularly affects the industrial area south of Industriestrasse Mitte. Numerous companies and the SZ-Watenstedt area are affected and must be evacuated.

Residents in the evacuation area are requested to leave the evacuation area by 7.30 pm at the latest. The gymnasium of the Hallendorf elementary school (Westernstr. 8-10, 38229 Salzgitter) will be opened from 7.30 pm as an emergency shelter during the evacuation.

There will be numerous road closures during the evacuation period. Road users are requested to drive around the area with immediate effect.

• Industriestraße Mitte (coming from Lebenstedt from the junction to Nord-Süd-Straße and)
• Heinrich-Büssing-Straße (coming from Wolfenbüttel from the junction with the B248)
• Eisenhüttenstraße (southern section from junction with K16)
• SZ-Watenstedt area
• Linke-Hofmann-Busch-Straße.

How long the evacuation and road closures will remain in place depends on the progress of the unexploded ordnance recovery operation. Up-to-date information is available on the Salzgitter city website at www.salzgitter.de, on the Twitter channels of the city of Salzgitter at https://twitter.com/stadtsalzgitter (opens in a new tab) and the police at https://twitter.com/Polizei_SZ (opens in a new tab) (under the hashtag "#SZ1907") or via the local media.

A citizens' hotline is available on 05341/837-2731 until the evacuation is lifted.