World Courant
Ministry of Inside Affairs of Serbia
Serbian police search the financial institution of the Drina River close to the Serbian city of Ljubovija
At the least 10 migrants, together with a mom and her child, have drowned after their boat capsized as they tried to cross the Drina River, the border between Serbia and Bosnia, Serbian Inside Minister Ivica Dacic mentioned.
Authorities mentioned no less than 18 different migrants, together with three youngsters, arrived safely on the Bosnian facet of the border on Thursday. It was unclear how many individuals have been lacking.
Dangerous climate halted the search, and officers in each international locations now plan to renew the operation Friday morning. Components of the river are as much as 200 m (656 ft) large.
In accordance with native media, a search can also be underway for a smuggler who introduced the migrants throughout the river.
Bosnian Border Police confirmed the incident passed off on Thursday morning, however didn’t present additional particulars.
Serbian officers additionally confirmed that an incident had taken place close to the border city of Ljubovija, with police including that almost all of the migrants have been folks from Morocco.
Serbian Inside Minister Dacic later mentioned that the “lifeless physique of a child, about 9 months outdated” was found by members of the Inside Ministry. “Sadly, this child is the tenth sufferer of the boat’s capsizing,” he mentioned in quotes cited by AFP information company.
The ministry mentioned the infant was “along with his mom, whose physique was recovered from the river earlier”.
Vladan Rankic, the pinnacle of Bosnia’s water rescue workforce, mentioned on Thursday {that a} search and rescue operation needed to be halted on account of unhealthy climate.
“To this point now we have discovered 10 drowned folks. We do not know precisely how many individuals we’re searching for, however the search will proceed into the early hours of tomorrow morning,” he advised Affiliation Press Tv Information.
Serbia and Bosnia are among the many most necessary transit international locations on the route by the Western Balkans to the European Union.
In accordance with Frontex, the EU’s border police company, the route was changed by the Central Mediterranean route by Italy in September 2023 when it comes to the variety of irregular border crossings, with many migrants crossing by way of Bulgaria.
In accordance with the Serbian authorities, greater than one million folks from Asia and Africa have entered the nation for the reason that 2015 refugee disaster. In accordance with the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM), greater than one million migrants entered Europe that 12 months.
In accordance with authorities information, most people who tried to enter Serbia in latest months got here from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Morocco and Pakistan.
However the variety of migrants touring by Serbia has decreased considerably lately.
Serbian police registered 10,389 unlawful entries within the first half of 2024, nearly 70% lower than the earlier 12 months.
Serbian officers attribute the decline to nearer cooperation with the Austrian police and with Frontex.
Many migrants use smugglers to enter Serbia from Bulgaria and North Macedonia after which attempt to cross the border into EU member states Hungary or Croatia.
Ten migrants drown in river at Serbia-Bosnia border
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