Nazi ships filled with explosives appeared in the Danube: video

Europe’s worst drought in recent years has pushed the normally full-flowing Danube River to one of its lowest levels in nearly a century, exposing the wrecks of dozens of explosive-laden German warships that sank during World War II near the Serbian river port town of Prahovo.

The ships were among the hundreds sunk on the Danube by Nazi Germany’s Black Sea Fleet in 1944 as they retreated from Soviet forces. These ships still prevent movement along the river during low water.

But this year, a drought exacerbated by anthropogenic global warming has exposed more than 20 wrecks in a section of the Danube near Prahovo in eastern Serbia, many of which still contain tons of ammunition and explosives and pose a hazard to navigation.

“The German flotilla left behind a big environmental disaster that threatens us, the inhabitants of Prahovo,” said Velimir Trajilovich, 74, a pensioner from Prahovo who has written a book about German ships.

Workers in the local fishing industry are also at risk, including those from Romania, which is on the other side.

Months of drought and record high temperatures have hampered river traffic along vital arteries in other parts of Europe, including Germany, Italy and France. In Serbia, the authorities resorted to dredging to keep the shipping lanes on the Danube open.

Some of the Nazi ship hulls narrowed the navigable section on this section of the Danube to 100 meters from 180 meters.

Scattered along the riverbed, some ships still have turrets, command bridges, broken masts and hulls, while others are left with only their hulls.

In March, the Serbian government announced a tender for the salvage of hulls and the removal of ammunition and explosives. The cost of the operation was estimated at 29 million euros ($30 million).