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.

Bomb defusal operations are common in Cologne, Germany, which was heavily targeted by Allied countries during the Second World War

More than 20,000 residents are being evacuated from part of Cologne’s city center to defuse World War II bombs