Europe drought: Low water on Danube river reveals sunken WW2 German warships

Europe's worst drought in years has pushed the mighty river Danube to one of its lowest levels in almost a century, exposing the hulks of dozens of German warships sunk during World War Two near Serbia's river port town of Prahovo.

The vessels were among hundreds scuttled along the Danube by Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet in 1944 as they retreated from advancing Soviet forces. These hulks still hamper river traffic during low water levels - as is certainly the case now.

However, this year's drought has exposed more than 20 hulks on a stretch of the Danube near Prahovo in eastern Serbia, many of which still contain tonnes of ammunition and explosives and pose a danger to shipping.

By Prahovo, some of the hulks have narrowed the navigable section on this stretch of the Danube to just 100 metres, down from 180 meters.

In March, the Serbian government invited a tender for the salvage of the hulks and removal of ammunition and explosives. The cost of the operation was estimated at 29 million euros.