The remains of more than 20 World War II-era German warships have been exposed in the Danube River near Prahovo, Serbia, as a result of Europe’s worst drought in 500 years. The ships — some of which still have old munitions aboard that could explode — are beginning to interfere with transit and fishing activities near the river port town in eastern Serbia, according to multiple reports. For example, Reuters reported that some travel lanes have narrowed from around 600 feet to 330 feet due to the ships’ ruins. Serbian authorities have started to dredge parts of the river to keep shipping lanes open. Nazi Germany’s Black Sea Fleet assembled near Prahovo in hopes of escaping the Soviet advance in September 1944. They later abandoned that option and scuttled nearly 200 ships in the process. “The German flotilla has left behind a big ecological disaster that threatens us, people of Prahovo,” Velimir Trajilovic, a pensioner from Prahovo who wrote a book about the German ships, told Reuters.
via washingtontimes: Nazi ships from WWII surface in Danube River during Europe’s intense drought
siehe auch: Dozens of sunken WWII German ships resurface along Danube River as water levels hit record low. As Europe continues to experience a record heat wave that one top scientist said could signal its worst drought in 500 years, receding water levels along the continent’s massive Danube River have exposed around two dozen sunken ships that belonged to the German army during World War II, according to Reuters. (…) Many of the sunken ships — including those that just resurfaced near Prahovo — still contain ammunition and explosives, the news agency reported, adding that some of the newly exposed hulks have narrowed usable stretches of the Danube by around 200 feet