Eurostar passengers are facing major disruption to services on Sunday after an unexploded bomb was discovered in Paris.
The Second World War bomb was found during engineering work in the area north of Gare du Nord, which is a railway station served by Eurostar.
According to local press, previous attempts to disarm the explosive failed.
A specialist team will attempt to deactivate it on Sunday but this has affected services to and from the UK.
Deactivation disruption
Eurostar said it has had to cancel five trains between London and the French capital, one will be diverted to Marne-la-Vallee – Chessy, the station that serves Disneyland Paris, and two others will be delayed.
In a statement, the company said: “There will be major disruption both to our services and transport throughout Paris on Sunday 17 February while authorities carry out the deactivation of a WW2 bomb discovered in the area north of Gare du Nord.
“As a result of this operation we have had to substantially revise our plan for Sunday and will be running a modified timetable. This includes the cancellation of five services and the rerouting of one service to Marne-la-Vallée.
“We are sorry for the impact this will have on our customers and would strongly advise anyone scheduled to travel with us between London and Paris this weekend to consider changing their plans.”
Roads and domestic train services in Paris will also be disrupted while the operation to make the device safe is carried out.
Free refunds or exchanges are being offered for all passengers booked to travel on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Diverted or delayed
Despite the war ending 74 years ago, unexploded bombs keep being discovered in Europe.
Earlier this month, Rome’s Ciampino airport was evacuated and closed after construction workers discovered three active bombs dating back to the war.
And in February last year, a 500kg Second World War bomb was found in the River Thames near London City Airport.
