A Nazi ship packed with explosives was raised from the Danube River in Serbia last week after eight decades underwater.
The Kriegsmarine Black Sea Fleet ship was among 200 vessels the Nazis scuttled in August 1944 to prevent them being captured by the advancing Red Army. Some 8,000 German soldiers and civilians who had been on board fled on foot to escape capture by the Soviets.
The shipwreck will be checked for remaining explosives and then displayed to the public.
“Every ship that is extracted undergoes a thorough inspection with the dismantling of any remaining explosives,” Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Goran Vesić said. “This process takes about 10 days.”
Serbia plans to salvage another 21 of the vessels from the Danube in the E.U.-funded project in the coming months, with an estimated 80 others slated to be removed at a later date.
As the water level in the river drops due to summer heat and drought, parts of these wrecks often emerge, hindering navigation.
