45,000 residents evacuated from the German city of Koblenz

Residents were requested to abandon their homes as bomb disposal experts prepare to defuse a World War II bomb discovered in the Rhine River, Germany.

Officials said around 45,000 residents living within a radius of about 1.2 miles from the bombsite had to evacuate the city this morning.

The British 1.8 tonne bomb could cause substantial damage if it detonated.

The bomb was discovered alongside a smaller bomb after the Rhine's water level fell due to lack of rain. Both bombs are to be defused today.