Massive World War II bomb found under the floorboards of London apartment

Bethnal Green emergency team in London
(Image credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Pizza, potato wedges, and soft drinks are little consolation for being kicked out of your East London flat due to a live World War II bomb being found underneath the floorboards. However, that's exactly what happened to over 150 people who spent the night in an emergency shelter after being booted from their apartments; the 500-pound bomb was unearthed yesterday while builders were working to convert a former factory into luxury flats.

"The bomb is 10 feet from my flat on the other side of a wall and I've had so many parties here...if it was going to blow up, it would have done so by now," one evacuee, Pauline Carter, 26, told The London Evening Standard.

"I didn't know anything about it until I went outside and it was like being in 28 Days Later," said Oers Sardi, 28, another resident who was told to leave immediately.

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The bomb was evidently dropped during the Blitz of 1940-1941, making it about 75 years old. Photographs released by the Ministry of Defense show the dangerous artifact to be a rusting shell resting about two feet underground. The Ministry of Defense has been delicately attempting to remove the bomb, as it is reportedly in a "tricky location." There is not yet a timetable for it to be defused and extracted.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.