Rescuers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. Polish firefighters offer help

Heavy rainfall led to river flooding on Friday in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the municipalities of Jablanica, Konjić, Kiseljak, Fojnica and Kreszevo. The greatest destruction occurred around the city of Jablanica. At least 18 people died as a result of the disaster.

One of the towns most affected by the natural disaster is Jablanica. The search for missing people is ongoing there. On Sunday morning, rescuers were digging through the rubble to find survivors. The water threw several thousand tons of stones from a nearby quarry towards the buildings.

According to local media, these are the deadliest floods to hit the country in years.

Due to the request for help from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland is ready to send a search and rescue group.

– In response, Poland offered the MUSAR group (Medium Search and Rescue Group) consisting of 41 rescuers, 10 rescue dogs and 10 tons of rescue and logistic equipment – said the press spokesman of the Chief Commander of the State Fire Service, Brig. Karol Kierzkowski. He noted that currently Polish firefighters are waiting for Bosnia and Herzegovina to accept the assistance offered. He informed that offers for MUSAR modules were also submitted by: Croatia and Serbia, as well as light search and rescue groups from Slovakia, Macedonia and Montenegro. Macedonia submitted an offer to the Flood Rescue team. Moreover, their presence with modules (status-monitoring) was noted by: Portugal, HungaryFrance and Germany.

The Slovenian authorities want to help Bosnia and Herzegovina in the search for missing people and in cleaning up, so they sent a convoy on Sunday, including rescuers.

– A convoy of 16 vehicles, 46 people and six dogs will go to the most affected areas, said Leon Behin, head of the Slovenian Civil Defense.

Local media reported on Saturday that Axis 500 residents of the village of Dusina near Fojnica had been cut off from the rest of the world. The Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced the full involvement of the army in removing the effects of the flood.

Internet has been restored in most of the country. Some roads have also been unblocked, including the one connecting Jablanica with Mostar, but for now only for rescue and emergency service vehicles.

Edin Forto, Minister of Transport of the Bosnian-Croat Federation, assessed the situation in the flood-affected areas as critical. – The element tore entire houses out of the ground, including concrete slabs and foundations. I've never seen anything like this, Forto said.