Sunken Nazi warships emerge from dried-up Danube as Europe’s longest river reveals hidden secrets amid summer drought

THE wreckage of several sunken Nazi warships has emerged in Serbia as the longest river in drought-hit Europe reveals its hidden secrets. Record-low water levels in the dried-up Danube river have exposed Nazi vehicles, vessels and prehistoric bones that have been resting on its sandbanks. The wreckage of a Nazi warship has emerged on the dried-up Danube Credit: AFP Boats have been stranded amid the record-breaking drought Credit: AFP Rusted hulls that have been submerged since World War Two have appeared amid the unprecedented dry spell. Small boats docked in a marina in Novi Sad, Serbia, have even been stranded due to a lack of water. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Ljubisa Karalic, a local fisherman in Prahovo, said: “This has literally never happened before. “These wrecks we’re heading towards right now have never been visible like this. A man explores the wreckage of one of the vessels, which has been submerged since WWII Credit: AFP A Nazi motorbike was uncovered in the shrinking waters in Budapest Credit: EPA “They’ve always been completely submerged; what we’re seeing now is utterly unprecedented.” A succession of record-breaking heatwaves in Europe has flung parts of the continent into record-breaking droughts. Major waterways such as the Danube and Rhine have been affected, with temperatures in the former hovering around an all-time maximum of 28C in Serbia. “A record has been broken regarding the Danube’s discharge,” said Jelena Jerinic of Serbia’s Hydrometeorological Service. Most read in The Sun The rusted hull of one of the ships Credit: AFP Remains of an ancient mammoth were discovered Credit: AFP “We hope this represents the minimum, given that rain is forecast for upstream stretches, which should help the situation improve.” Jerinic warned that the soaring water temps also threatened the river’s biodiversity. Heightened temperatures, along with low water levels, accelerate the proliferation of microorganisms and bacteria while depleting dissolved oxygen levels. Hungarian PM Peter Magyar said authorities will sink two barges later today to raise the water level at the Paks nuclear plant in the Danube. A boy rides a scooter on a sandbank of the dried-up Danube River Credit: AP Cargo ships unable to navigate the river in Croatia Credit: AFP The struggling facility is currently operating at around 25 per cent of its capacity due to the record low water levels, from which the plant draws its coolant. Neighbouring Romania was forced to shut down its last working reactor on Thursday as the drought wreaks havoc on European power production. The crisis has raised questions in Hungary and Romania about how to adapt atomic energy to an increasingly extreme climate. Hungary‘s government announced on Wednesday that it would build a submerged, dam-like structure to manage waterflow, which will take weeks. It added that two 260-foot barges would be submerged near the nuclear plant to raise the water level in the short term. It should allow the plant’s two turbines to keep working while the riverbed sill was under construction. “The controlled sinking (of the barges) is expected to begin late this afternoon in order to raise the water level on the Danube,” Magyar said in a Facebook video from Paks on Friday. Sinking of the barges could raise the water level by 8 inches in the short term, while the river sill is expected to raise it by up to 1 metre. It comes as a remarkably well-preserved Nazi-era motorcycle was recently found in Budapest. The vehicle, which was spotted on the shores of the river opposite the country’s parliament building, was pulled out and cleaned up by military personnel. Despite it being rusted, the motorcycle had retained its form after decades under the water. It has since been put on display at the depot of the Institute and Museum of Military History in Budapest. Comment now