Kordic: New fire near Uborak landfill was deliberately set, likely the first one too

Following a meeting of the crisis headquarters, Mario Kordic, Mayor of Mostar, said the new fire was deliberately set and confirmed that residents living near the fire site had been evacuated.

''We received reports that someone started the fire. I won’t be polite and say it just caught fire on its own. Next to the Uborak landfill, there is a large storage site for car tires that is unrelated to the earlier fire site. This morning, a massive fire broke out there, nearby houses were endangered, and we ordered the evacuation of residents in that area. An additional problem is that there is a fuel tank near the tire storage site,'' the mayor warned.

He added that authorities also suspect the first fire was intentionally set.

The Mayor also warned about major problems caused by the blockade of the temporary waste transfer and disposal site in Vrapcici, north of Mostar.

He confirmed that, due to the blockade, trucks carrying waste had to return to the city.

Kordic stressed that decisions and orders issued by the Civil Protection Headquarters of the City of Mostar cannot be blocked.

He also explained why the transfer site in Vrapcici was selected.

''When searching for a suitable transfer location, there were 50 potentially acceptable sites. Each had its shortcomings. The old plateau of the 'Mostar basin', built before the war and never put into use, was the best option. It is a concrete surface that prevents runoff water from reaching the Neretva River; it has the fewest nearby residents, and waste transfer at that location posed no technical issues,'' Kordic said.

He also referred to the long-running legal disputes between the city authorities and non-governmental organizations regarding waste management and operations at the Uborak landfill.

In closing, he reiterated his suspicion that both fires were deliberately set.