Europe's second-longest river, the Danube, has reached levels so low that sunken German battleships from World War II have emerged from the dried-out riverbed.

Near Prahovo, a Serbian port where the Danube separates the country from Romania, a rusty hull and broken mast has become visible where the Nazis once purposely sunk their own ship to avoid capture by the Russians.Both the Rhine and the Danube have seen World War II-era ships appear due to low water levelsImage: Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance

The Serbian government has long sought help from the European Union to remove what are believed to be hundreds of ships, some still laden with weapons, from the river floor. But pinpointing their exact locations without accidentally disturbing the explosives still onboard has been an issue.

Low water levels in the Danube have pushed some power plants in parts of Central and Eastern Europe to the brink of shutting down. The Danube flows through ten countries, including Germany and AustriaImage: Djordje Kojadinovic/REUTERS

Ferries, tourism boats, and shipping on both the Danube and the Rhine river have been drastically reduced in recent weeks due to the drought.