A collective funeral and burial for 19 victims from Jablanica was held on Tuesday in this town in northern Herzegovina, which was the hardest hit by recent floods and landslides. Husein Kavazovic, the head of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, led the prayer service.

Kavazovic called for peace for the families of the victims and urged believers not to abandon or forget them.

The majority of the victims lost their lives in the village of Donja Jablanica, where entire families – Tufek, Maslo, Imamovic, Cilic, and Begovic – were killed.

In Jablanica, 19 people died, while four lost their lives in nearby Konjic, and three in Fojnica, in central BiH, bringing the death toll from this disaster to 26. The body of the last victim was found yesterday, and the search continues for one more missing person in the Konjic area.

F.Z. / N1 BiH

F.Z. / N1 BiH

F.Z. / N1 BiH

F.Z. / N1 BiH

F.Z. / N1 BiH

F.Z. / N1 BiH

F.Z. / N1 BiH

F.Z. / N1

F.Z. / N1

F.Z. / N1

Initial estimates of the damage caused by the catastrophic floods and landslides in Jablanica are around €25 million. A total of 200 buildings were damaged, 49 of which were completely destroyed. Significant damage was also done to public and commercial facilities, as well as to agriculture.

In Jablanica municipality, which was the most affected by the disaster, and in Konjic, efforts are still underway to clear roads and restore water and electricity supplies.

A major problem is the accumulation of 50,000 cubic metres of debris at the Grabovica hydroelectric dam, caused by the floods and landslides. Removing the debris is expected to take at least a month. Power companies based in Sarajevo and Mostar have said the debris does not currently pose a risk to the operation of the hydroelectric plants.