Romanian military blasts Danube rock formation

Romania's military has carried out a controlled underwater explosion in the Danube River to increase water flow to the country's only nuclear power plant as drought-driven low water levels threaten reactor cooling operations.

The operation comes after one of the two reactors at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant was shut down because insufficient river levels affected the plant's cooling capacity, Bloomberg reports.

Romanian military personnel detonated 180 kilograms of explosives near the commune of Izvoarele to remove a rock formation from the riverbed and redirect more water into the Danube's main channel.

Romania's acting Defence Minister, Radu Miruță, said the country was approaching the minimum water level required to safely cool the plant's nuclear equipment and that authorities were taking all possible measures to increase the water flow to the facility.

The controlled blast was intended to help prevent the shutdown of the plant's remaining operating reactor, which, according to the report, had been at risk of being taken offline after Thursday if water levels continued to decline.

The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant is Romania's only nuclear energy facility and plays a key role in the country's electricity generation. The operation highlights the growing impact of prolonged drought conditions on critical infrastructure across parts of southeastern Europe.

By Sabina Mammadli