In the northwestern German city of Hanover, 50,0000 people have been evacuated from their homes while experts defused three British bombs dropped during World War II.

It was the second largest evacuation of its kind carried out in Germany, according to the BBC.

City officials initially said five suspected bombs were discovered; two at a construction site and three more nearby. But the BBC cites local German media as saying two suspected bombs turned out to be harmless scrap metal. Two unexploded bombs were successfully defused by Sunday afternoon and a third required a specialized cutting machine to be made safe.

NPR's Soraya Sarhadi Nelson reports, "The bombs were discovered weeks ago, but officials say planning the evacuation of 10 percent of the city's residents and disposal of multiple bombs takes time."