Low Danube triggers 16 bomb disposal operations

Low water levels on the Danube are exposing increasing numbers of wartime remnants in Lower Austria, with the bomb disposal service carrying out 16 operations since July, ORF reported. A Panzerfaust was found in the Wachau section of the river on Thursday.

Jürgen Ziegelwanger spotted the weapon at midday while walking along the riverbank between Aggstein and Aggsbach Dorf in the Melk district. He said he recognised it from its trigger mechanism and found the warhead nearby.

It was the second wartime remnant Ziegelwanger had found along the Danube in a matter of weeks. In mid-July, he and his family found parts of grenades during a day of swimming. In both cases, he did not touch the objects and immediately contacted the police.

Police said he had acted correctly. People who find wartime remnants should not touch them and should report them immediately. The bomb disposal service recovered the Panzerfaust and its ammunition on Thursday for controlled destruction.

Since July 1, the service has carried out 16 operations in Lower Austria because of the Danube’s low water levels, police told ORF. The finds have included aerial bombs and grenades, although most have been ammunition.

About 8,700 kilograms of wartime material are recovered in Lower Austria each year. The army’s bomb disposal service transports the material to the Allentsteig military training area in the Zwettl district, where it is destroyed twice a year. About 12 tonnes were detonated there last November.

Extreme heat and drought have pushed water levels in many European rivers to historic lows. The Danube and Rhine are particularly affected, disrupting shipping while exposing objects including old shipwrecks and mammoth bones.