Professionals arrived quickly and were able to defuse the bomb within approximately two hours. During that time, the whole area was evacuated.

Beloved tourist sight and one of the busiest areas in the heart of Budapest, Vörösmarty Square is being renovated. Thanks to the construction that is going on, a bomb was discovered below the square, in the area near Deák Square on 25 March, Monday afternoon.

The Soviet bomb is from the Second World War, and it weighs a couple hundred kilograms, Index reports. The bomb squad arrived quickly.

While the bomb was being deactivated, the whole area within a 100-metre radius was closed off and cleared out. The Kempinski Hotel nearby was completely cleared out as well.

This is not the first bomb found in Budapest this year. Bomb disposal experts lifted and defused two WW2 bombs from the River Danube earlier this month.

The evacuation of Vörösmarty Square started around 4:45 p.m. Public transport was also diverted. After the bomb was discovered, it was lying inside the bucket of a loader used for the construction.

The square was completely cleared out by 4:45 p.m., but before that time, tourists wandering around the square could take a look at the unusual thing in the middle of the square.

Locals were provided shelter in the hall of a nearby City Hall of District V.

Professionals were able to deactivate the bomb by 7 p.m. by removing the detonator from the bomb itself. The bomb was moved to an assembly centre of the Military of Hungary, where it will be destroyed.

MTI Photo: Balaton József
Source: Daily News Hungary, index.hu