A car is submerged in flood waters outside an apartment building in the village of Kiseljak, northern Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
© Armin DurgutA car is submerged in flood waters outside an apartment building in the village of Kiseljak, northern Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
A severe rainstorm struck Bosnia overnight Friday, killing at least 14 people and flooding several towns and villages in central and southern parts of the country.

Rescue services in the south of the country reported several people missing and called on volunteers and the army to assist as roads were closed and houses left without electricity.

Darko Jukan, a spokesman for the local administration in the southern town of Jablanica, said at least 14 people had died.

Defense Minister Zukan Helez told N1 regional television that troops have been engaged to help and that the casualties were reported.




Helez said that "hour after hour we are receiving news about new victims ... We sent everyone we could. Our first priority is to save the people who are alive and buried in houses where the landslides are."

Rescue services in the towns of Jablanica and Kiseljak said the power was off overnight and cellphone service was down. mobile phones lost their signal.

The Jablanica fire station said that the town was completely inaccessible because roads and trainlines were closed.

"The police informed us that the railroad is also blocked," the state rescue service said in a statement. "You can't get in or out of Jablanica at the moment. Landline phones are working, but mobile phones have no signal."

It urged people not to venture out on the flooded streets.

(More here)