At dawn the evacuation of around eight thousand residents in the red zone of Foggia began for the removal of a war device. The plan, coordinated by the prefecture, involves the use of drones to avoid looting. The bomb will be detonated in a quarry in Lucera.
The evacuation of around eight thousand residents in the red zone of Foggia, an area of 430 meters from the construction site in via Spalato, where a war device was found, began at the first light of dawn. The removal operations, scheduled for the morning, are coordinated by the prefecture with the participation of law enforcement, firefighters, local health authorities, the municipality and the Red Cross.
The Radio Club Marconi civil protection volunteers helped transport people with reduced mobility to relatives’ homes or reception points. Many residents left their homes in the early hours of the day. One resident said: “I live right on the bomb. They were weeks of fear. I hope it ends soon. Now I’m going to my children and then we’ll see.”
Some left their homes yesterday evening, after the water was disconnected, followed this morning by the disconnection of electricity and gas. All vehicles in the red zone have been moved, and the area is monitored by the police, with the help of remotely piloted drones to prevent incidents of looting.
The sound of the sirens will signal the start and end of the removal operations. An assisted medical station of the Military Red Cross has been set up in Piazza Cavour, right in the city centre. The reception points welcome people without alternatives in which to spend the hours necessary to remove the bomb, which will subsequently be detonated in a quarry in Lucera, about 20 kilometers from Foggia.
