By V.E.K.Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Tragic Incident Highlights Perils of Migrant Journeys in the Balkans
At least 10 migrants, including a mother and her infant daughter, drowned when their boat capsized while attempting to cross the Drina River, which forms the border between Serbia and Bosnia, according to Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.
Authorities reported that at least 18 other migrants, including three children, safely reached the Bosnian side of the border on Thursday. However, it remains unclear how many others may still be missing.
The search and rescue efforts were halted due to adverse weather conditions, with officials from both countries planning to resume the operation on Friday morning. The river, which spans up to 200 meters (656 feet) in some parts, poses significant challenges for the search teams.
Local media also reported that authorities were searching for a smuggler believed to have transported the migrants across the river. Bosnia's border police confirmed the incident occurred on Thursday morning but provided no additional details.
Serbian officials confirmed the location of the incident near the border town of Ljubovija and noted that most of the migrants were from Morocco. Minister Dacic later revealed that the "lifeless body of a baby, approximately nine months old," was discovered by the internal affairs ministry. He added, "Unfortunately, this baby is the tenth victim of the boat capsizing."
The ministry also confirmed that the baby was found with its mother, whose body had been recovered earlier from the river.
Vladan Rankic, head of Bosnia's water rescue team, stated that the search operation had to be paused due to poor weather conditions. "So far, we have found 10 drowned people. We do not know the exact number of people we are looking for, but the search will continue tomorrow in the early hours of the morning," he told the Associated Press Television News.
Serbia and Bosnia are key transit countries on the route through the Western Balkans into the European Union. In September 2023, according to Frontex, the EU's border police organization, this route surpassed the Central Mediterranean route through Italy in the number of irregular border crossings, with many migrants entering through Bulgaria.
Since the refugee crisis of 2015, over a million people from Asia and Africa have crossed into Serbia, according to the Serbian government. More than one million migrants entered Europe that year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Recently, the majority of those attempting to cross into Serbia have come from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Morocco, and Pakistan.
However, the number of migrants transiting through Serbia has significantly decreased over the years. Serbian police recorded 10,389 illegal entries in the first half of 2024, nearly 70% less than the previous year. Serbian officials attribute this decline to closer cooperation with Austrian police and Frontex.
Many migrants rely on smugglers to enter Serbia from Bulgaria and North Macedonia, with the goal of eventually crossing into EU member states Hungary or Croatia.
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