A ship transporting fertilizer sank in the section of the Danube between Serbia and Croatia

(Photo: Pixabay)

According to the report of the Serbian Public Service Television (RTS) referring to the authorities, the German ship Antonia crashed into one of the columns of the Danube Bridge on the Serbian-Croatian border near Palanka in Vojvodina shortly after midnight. The damaged bridge has been closed, and traffic is being diverted to other border crossings.

According to the Serbian Ministry of Environmental Protection, the ship’s barge sank with a thousand tons of fertilizer

Experts investigate the consequences of fertilizer pollution on the environment. Environmental protection expert Dusan Blagojevic spoke on regional news television N1 that the sinking of the barge containing a thousand tons of fertilizer will certainly have a negative impact on aquatic flora and fauna, and indirectly on people as well. “We don’t know exactly what kind of fertilizer it is, we can only assume that we are talking about ammonium fertilizer. What is certain is that there will be an excess of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), which will inevitably lead to the overblooming of algae, and this will cause excessive oxygen consumption in surface waters. They will multiply the pathogens and the nitrate concentration increases, and finally, unpleasant odors and gases are produced,” explained the expert. As he said, the proliferation of aquatic plants results in a reduction in the amount of oxygen, which can lead to the drowning of fish and other living creatures. He added that even low concentrations of ammonia are toxic to animals.

MTI