WWII bomb prompts evacuation of 23,000 from Italian town

ROME, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Some 23,000 people were evacuated from a town in central Italy after a World War II bomb was discovered and accidentally triggered at a construction site, local media reported Tuesday.

At least 1,000 troops were dispatched to help evacuate part of the seaside town of Fano, located in the Marche region facing the Adriatic Sea, ANSA news agency reported.

The town has population of just over 60,000, according to the national statistics institute.

The 500-pound device was manufactured in the UK. If it goes off, the bomb could cause damage within a radius of 1,800 meters, according to ANSA.

A hospital and the railway station were also evacuated and train service was halted because they lay within the bomb's 1,800-meter range.

Military explosives specialists will extract it and set it off at sea, ANSA reported. Enditem