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'wwii Bomb Risk' To Olympic Site


Rob2012

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Unexploded World War II bombs may be buried under the east London 2012 Olympic Games site, BBC London has learned.

More than 200 of the 1,500 V1 and V2 rockets dropped in east London failed to detonate, said a report for the London Development Agency (LDA).

It classed some of the 500-acre site as "high risk" and experts have begun scanning the area for ordnance.

The cost of the work has been factored into the site clean-up, said the LDA.

At the peak of the Blitz thousands of bombs were dropped on London by the German Luftwaffe and some failed to explode.

A civil defence map used in the report, by independent site investigation firm Zetica, shows where bombs fell over east London.

Of 1,493 high explosive bombs identified, 207 remain unexploded, according to the report.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the Olympic site was one of the most polluted places in southern England.

"Of course there's a risk of bombs," he said. "We did get a lot of dropped on us during the war and we haven't found them all yet.

"The only way you're going to get this dealt with is with a real pressure point like the Olympics."

Report author Mike Sainsbury, of Zetica, said the area was targeted by the Germans as it was close to east London docks.

He said: "I believe it was Hitler's own personal goal to strangle London by targeting docks."

Steve Davis, of the LDA, said nothing was being left to chance.

"We will be able to detect ordnance if it's there in the areas we're going to probe," he said.

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Except that it does say "the cost of the work has been factored into the site clean-up" in the article.

Though your blame Hitler point was interesting. In some respects, I doubt we'd be hosting the Olympics in East London were it not for the Luftwaffe. There wouldn't be a 300-acre site ripe for use and Coe may not have been able to give such a stirring legacy argument had the War not affected that part of London in such devestating ways; ways which are affecting us to this day in many respects.

So, I'd just like to say thanks to the Nazis for making all this possible! ;):unsure:

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Tasteless jokes on my part aside, what you said is an interesting point even if it wasn't meant to be Mallaka.

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In addition to unexploded bombs,I wouldn't be at all surprised if they stumble across archaeological remains while they are digging up the site,you know Roman or Viking artefacts etc.And then there would be a delay while the archaeologists do their investigations! :unsure:

I wonder if those kinds of contingencies have been allowed for? B)

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Except that it does say "the cost of the work has been factored into the site clean-up" in the article.

Well, there was no real need to quote the article back to me. I did read the sentence in question myself. Forgive me but I just don't believe a single word of anything anymore. After all, we were also promised that these games would be tightly managed and that the cost would be £2.3bn. I apologise if I take everything that they say now with a pinch of salt. That is what you get when you break promises. You loose total respect and everything becomes questionable.

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... well, that is not very astonishing - I suppose on every huge construction site in a german city you would have the same problem...

I suppose the London Fire Brigade has an unit, which is specialised on the "Entschärfung" (cleaning up) of "Blindgänger" (not exploded bombs).

It's just more excuses Martin. I could have told them when they first started the bid process that the land could well be littered with unexploded bombs from the war. It is quite common knowledge that the area was badly bombed during the war. I remember a couple of times as a kid being forced to evacuate my area due to unexploded bombs. They would have known and considered this well in advance. And if they have not, then they should have done.

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