An Afghan migrant went missing in the Una river, near the North-Western Bosnian town of Cazin, Interior Minister of the Una-Sana Canton, where Cazin is situated, confirmed for N1.

According to Ale Siljdedic, the Ministry's spokesperson, his disappearance was reported on Tuesday and diving teams are already in the field.

“An Afghan migrant went missing in the Una river, yesterday and divers are in the field searching for him,” Siljdedic told N1.

A witness to the accident, an Afghan M.F. said the man who disappeared was his sister's husband and father of two.

According to M.F., he went to a grocery shop at around 2 p.m. when he saw the ill-fated man enter the river. When he came a little closer to the banks, he heard the man calling for help because he was drowning. M.F. Claims he entered the water to help him, but the man disappeared and he and other migrants from the near-by migrant centre could not find him.

“No one helped us. Only at around 5-6 pm, the police came. Several people from the camp tried to help, but they couldn't find him either,” M.F. Told N1.

 The Una-Sana Canton, which borders with Croatia has been a hub for migrants ever since Hungary and Bulgaria introduced strict measures and barbed wire along their borders. This forced migrants to use Bosnia as a transit country, in an attempt to reach Western Europe in search of a better life.

According to the latest estimates, there are around 9,000 migrants residing in the country, most of whom are situated in migrant camps in and around Una-Sana Canton's Bihac and Velika Kladusa towns. They mostly enter the country from the direction of Serbia and Montenegro.