At least 22 people dead in devastating floods in Bosnia
08/10/2024 15:42
By Daria Sito-Sucic
SARAJEVO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - At least 22 people have died
in severe floods and landslides which wiped out whole villages
across Bosnia and Herzegovina and caused huge damage to the
impoverished Balkan country, officials said on Tuesday.
A key transport infrastructure connecting central and
southern Bosnia has been severely damaged, companies and homes
submerged by flash floods and cattle swept away.
Damage estimates are at early stages as rescuers still
search for survivors in the area around the southern towns of
Konjic and Jablanica which were worst hit.
Another body was recovered from a lake in the village of
Buturovic Polje on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 22, a local
official said. Six people are still missing.
Darko Juka, a spokesman for the government of the
Herzegovina-Neretva canton, said it was too early to talk about
figures but that the damage will be huge.
The railway line connecting the Bosnian towns with the
Croatian port of Ploce was completely destroyed in a 17km-long
section towards the southern town of Mostar.
A 200 meter-long stretch of railway track could be seen
suspended in the air.
"A daily loss just from the fall in revenues from cargo and
passenger transportation amounts to 280,000 Bosnian marka
($157,000)," said Samir Kadric, a spokesman for the regional
railways company Zeljeznice Federacije BiH.
"It is quite certain that the damages caused by this
disaster will amount to dozens of millions marka," Kadric said,
adding that the company will begin work to repair the tracks
next week.
Many Bosnian exporting companies, such as ArcelorMittal
Zenica MT.LU , Adriatic Metals ADT1.L and Aluminium Industries,
usually move their products to the port of Ploce by railway.
U.K.-based Adriatic Metals, which operates the silver, lead
and barite mine in central Bosnia, said it will use road
transport until the railway track is fully repaired.
"Adriatic expects no impact on ongoing operations and is
confident in utilising road logistics as a temporary solution,"
it said in a statement to Reuters.
($1 = 1.7809 marka)
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Ed Osmond)
((daria.sito-sucic@thomsonreuters.com; +38733 295 484; Reuters
Messaging: daria.sito-sucic.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))