For more than 200 years, the myth of the Lorelei rock, named after a mythical mermaid who lured fisherman to their deaths by singing the most beautiful song ever heard and causing them to crash into the rocks, put fear into the hearts of captains of boats plying the Rhine River. Historically low water levels this November are presenting a new threat: World War II bombs.
Sinking water levels have exposed much more of the river bed than normal, and it turns out the bottom of one of Europe's busiest waterways is still littered with World War II leftovers. Over the weekend, passers-by alerted the authorities to the presence of one incendiary bomb near Cologne, two barrels in Koblenz filled with a chemical used during the war to create smoke screens and one large bomb, also in Koblenz, that is still lying in 40 centimeters (16 inches) of water, waiting to be defused.
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