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PRAHOVO — European The worst drought in years has pushed the water level of the mighty Danube to its lowest level in almost a century, with dozens of explosives sunk near the Serbian river port of Prahovo during World War II. The hull of a German warship loaded with is exposed.
These ships were among the hundreds sunk along the Danube by the Nazi Black Sea Fleet in 1944, and the water levels are still low as they withdrew from the Soviet advance. interfering with river traffic.
But this year's drought, which scientists see as a result of global warming, has exposed more than 20 hulls on the Danube near Prahovo in eastern Serbia, many of them It still contains a large amount of ammunition and explosives. pose a hazard to transportation.
"The German fleet left a great ecological disaster that threatens us, the people of Prahovo," said a pensioner from Prahovo, who wrote a book about German ships. The recipient, his 74-year-old Velimir Trajlovic, said.
Local fishery workers are also at risk, including workers from Romania across the river.
Elsewhere in Europe, including Germany, Italy and France, months of drought and record high temperatures have disrupted river traffic in important arteries. In Serbia, authorities are dredging the Danube River to keep it open.
By Prahovo, some of the Hulks reduced the navigable length of this stretch of the Danube from 180 meters to only 100 meters (330 ft).
Some of the ships that litter the riverbed still boast turrets, command bridges, broken masts and twisted hulls, while others are mostly sunk beneath the sandbanks.
In March, the Serbian government submitted a tender to salvage the hull and remove ammunition and explosives. The surgery cost him an estimated €29 million ($30 million).
($1 = 0.9918 euros) (reported by Aleksandar Vasovic, edited by Raissa Kasolowsky)
