The Romanian Military Blew Up A Rock In The Danube To Cool The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant

• 3.08.2026, 21:14

Video Fact.

The Romanian military used about 180 kg of explosives to blast away an underwater rock formation in the Danube riverbed in order to increase the water flow to the country’s only nuclear power plant, “Cernavodă,” according to Bloomberg.

Due to drought and the river’s low water levels, Nuclearelectrica had previously shut down one of the plant’s two reactors. Romania’s acting defense minister Radu Miruță reported that a controlled explosion was carried out to clear the riverbed and redirect water into the main channel supplying the nuclear power plant.

“We are very close to reaching the minimum water level required for the safe cooling of nuclear equipment, and we are doing everything possible to increase the water flow to the nuclear power plant,” said Miruță.

The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant was designed by the Canadian company Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in the 1980s and began operations in 1996. It is Romania’s only nuclear power plant, with two 700-MW reactors, which accounted for about 18% of the country’s electricity consumption.