Authorities in the German city of Cologne have defused three unexploded World War Two bombs after the evacuation of more than 20,000 people. Bomb squad technicians deactivated the American bombs on Wednesday after evacuating an area of around 10,000 sq m (107,639 sq ft) following their discovery in a shipyard in Deutz on Monday.

Buildings across the center of the western city of Cologne were evacuated after the discovery of three World War II bombs. Some 20,000 people had been under evacuation orders.