Some 600 people have been evacuated from their homes in the old city of Frankfurt so specialists could remove a World War II-era bomb that was discovered in the Main River.

The German news agency dpa reported the bomb was defused, as planned, underwater on Sunday, which led to a loud detonation and a big water fountain on the river. Police told dpa "the bomb is no longer a danger."

Firefighters had discovered the American 250-kilogram (550-pound) bomb during diving training in the river on Tuesday.

Even more than 70 years after the end of the war, bombs and other munitions still turn up regularly in Germany, a testament to the ferocity of the fighting in World War II.