A scorching summer drought has revealed a chilling chapter of World War II history in the Danube River, as a trove of sunken Nazi ships have re-emerged from the receding waters, CBS News reports.
The vessels, still laden with explosives, were discovered by the Serbian town of Prahovo, hundreds of miles upstream from another set of ships found by Hungary’s Danube-Drava National Park.
The German ships, dating back to before 1950, are just the latest to surface in the Danube, Europe’s second-longest river. Recurring droughts and heat waves have caused drastic drops in water levels, exposing remnants of the past and posing significant challenges to navigation.
“Captains must be extremely cautious and incidents such as grounding frequently occur,” said Damir Vladic, manager of the port of Prahovo, highlighting the difficulties faced by navigators due to the low water levels.
The discovery of these ships echoes a similar event in 2022, when record-low water levels revealed dozens of vessels from Nazi Germany’s Black Sea fleet near Prahovo. The European Commission’s Copernicus program documented the severity of the drought that year, stressing the impact on navigation and water resources.
The Nazi ships met their watery grave in September 1944, as German forces retreated from the Red Army. To slow the advance and prevent their vessels from falling into Soviet hands, the Germans scuttled scores of ships across the Danube.
“They wanted to pass through the Djerdap Gorge, but when they realized they couldn’t, they decided to scuttle the ships,” explained historian Velimir Miki Trailovic.
The sunken fleet included transport ferries, barges, and torpedo boats, totaling nearly 200 vessels. They remained largely undisturbed for over 80 years, hidden beneath the Danube’s surface.
Now, a joint initiative backed by the European Investment Bank and Western Balkans Investment Framework is undertaking a salvage operation to remove these dangerous remnants of the past. The operation, which has received nearly 30 million euros in funding, aims to clear the Danube of the sunken ships, including a minesweeper that was successfully pulled from the river in August.
However, the presence of submerged munitions presents a significant challenge. Serbian officials estimate that it will take a year and a half to safely remove the ships, ensuring that the explosive remnants of war are carefully dealt with to prevent any potential detonations.
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