Boat with 25 migrants capsized in River Drina leaving 7 people missing – Minister

BELGRADE, August 22 (Sputnik) – A boat with 25 illegal migrants capsized on the river Drina, which runs along the border between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and search for 7 people is ongoing, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic said on Thursday.

“This morning, at approximately 05:00 a.m. (03:00 GMT), Bosnian border authorities and a local told the border police in the Serbian town of Ljubovija that a boat with illegal migrants had capsized in the Drina River overnight, while trying to leave Serbia and cross the river between the Drlace settlement in the Ljubovija municipality and Orlitsa in the Zvornik municipality [in Bosnia]. Police officers and emergency services from the ministry of internal affairs were immediately dispatched to the scene, and searches are ongoing along the river and shore. The survived migrants say that there were initially 25 people in the boat, but the police have so far confirmed the presence of 18 people, including three children,” the minister said.

Bosnian police and rescuers are also searching for the remaining seven migrants. A detachment of divers from Serbia is also expected to arrive to assist in the search.