Authorities in Cologne said this was the largest evacuation of the city since World War II. Unexploded ordnance has commonly been found across Europe.

Three unexploded U.S. bombs from World War II were defused on Wednesday in Cologne after the German city's biggest evacuation since the end of the war.

Around 20,000 people were being evacuated from central Cologne Wednesday after three unexploded World War II bombs were found, the biggest such operation in the German city since the end of the war.