PRAHOVO, Serbia, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Wrecks of World War Two German warships have resurfaced on the Danube River in eastern Serbia as record-low water levels exposed sandbanks and stranded boats.
Rusted hulls that have lain submerged for decades since 1945 have emerged, while further north in Novi Sad many small boats docked in marinas remain stranded.
“This has literally never happened before, these wrecks we’re heading towards right now have never been visible like this,” Ljubisa Karalic, a local fisherman in Prahovo, told Reuters.
“They’ve always been completely submerged; what we’re seeing now is utterly unprecedented.”
A succession of record-breaking heatwaves in Europe this summer has caused a severe drought in parts of the continent, affecting major waterways such as the Danube and the Rhine.
The Danube water temperatures in Serbia hovered around an all-time maximum of 28 degrees Celsius.
“A record has been broken regarding the Danube’s discharge. We hope this represents the minimum, given that rain is forecast for upstream stretches, which should help the situation improve,” Jelena Jerinic of Serbia’s Hydrometeorological Service said. She warned that the river’s biodiversity is threatened as well.
“High (water) temperatures, alongside low water volume, accelerate the proliferation of microorganisms and bacteria while depleting dissolved oxygen levels.”
(Reporting by Fedja Grulovic and Marko Djurica; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
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