Students and lecturers were evacuated from Mcast in Paola this morning after the discovery of an unexploded wartime bomb.

The 500kg German semi-armour piercing bomb was discovered at about 10.30 a.m. during digging in preparation for the building of the new Mcast campus. It was some 50 metres away from the nearest building.

Army bomb disposal experts quickly arrived on site. A robot was initially deployed. Soldiers then examined the bomb and rendered it safe. It was then delicately lifted and placed between sandbags at the back of a truck at about 1.15 p.m.

The bomb was taken to the EOD base on Manoel Island under police escort. It will later be dumped at sea in a designated area.

The area around Paola and Corradino, where Mcast is located, was hit by several wartime bombs as it lies between the harbour and the airport.