remnants of the past resurface in the Danube

First, extremely rare sandbanks emerge in a part of the Danube, in Prahovo (Serbia), then shadows under the surface of the water before imposing wrecks appear. The river is at one of its lowest levels for a century and it reveals dangerous vestiges of the past. In particular, there is a cemetery of Nazi warships, sunk here almost 80 years ago. Twenty boats surfaced. With this summer’s drought, the river is more than a meter below its normal level.

For a long time, these ships only existed on underwater maps. At the same time as these carcasses, another threat is now resurfacing. These warships, with their ammunition, have never been secured. “We can sometimes spot underwater mines near the wrecks. It is estimated that there are still 100 tons of explosives here in the Danube”, explains Saša Markovi, captain of river transport. In duplex on site for the 23 Hours of franceinfo, journalist Laurent Desbonnets adds that “Several other countries crossed by the Danube are currently sounding the alarm. The low level of the river is creating serious irrigation problems for agriculture but also, as in Budapest, Hungary, very serious concerns about the ‘running water supply’.