Fears of unexploded wartime bomb in Käpylä
Excavation work to begin in late May
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According to measurements taken by the military last summer, it seems that in all probability there is an unexploded wartime Soviet bomb in the ground beneath the playing fields of the Käpylä Sports Park in Helsinki.
Measurements have indicated two objects around four metres below the surface. Both are metallic, and one contains a great deal of metal. One of the two objects may be the detached tail-fin of the bomb.
It is thought that the weapon in question would be a bomb of at least 1000kg, possibly a device of the FAB-1000 class of munitions.
Brigadier-General Jan Laukka of the Finnish Defence Forces believes that if it is a bomb, it is most likely to have come from the intensive aerial bombardment of the Finnish capital by the Soviet Air Force in February 1944, when more than 16,000 bombs were dropped.
In part owing to good deception work by Finnish anti-aircraft batteries, fewer than 700 of the bombs fell on the centre of the city, and some of these, too, did not go off.
The police plan to investigate the suspected bomb as soon as is feasible, and the week-long task of excavation will probably begin in late May.
Brigadier-General Jan Laukka sought to reassure local residents that there was little to fear, since the bomb, if there is one, has lain in the ground for more than 60 years, and there has been activity in the area the entire time.
However, the possible widening of nearby Hakamäentie (a chronic Helsinki bottleneck), which will involve blasting work on the bedrock, could pose a risk, and hence the best recourse is to dig up and remove the suspected bomb beforehand.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 1.4.2005 - TODAY |
 Fears of unexploded wartime bomb in Käpylä
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