This morning, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic announced that Bosnian border authorities informed the Ljubovija Border Police that a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized on the Drina River during the night.

The migrants were attempting to cross the river from Serbia between the areas of Drlaca in the municipality of Ljubovija and Orlica in the municipality of Zvornik.

“At around 5:00 AM, the Ljubovija Border Police received reports from Bosnian border officials and a local resident about the boat incident on the Drina River,” Dacic stated, according to nova.rs.

In response, police officers and the Emergency Situations Sector were immediately dispatched to the scene, and an intensive search of the river and surrounding area is currently underway.

“In addition to the Ljubovija Police Station and the Emergency Situations Sector, members of the Ljubovija Border Police Station and the Regional Border Police Center towards Bosnia and Herzegovina are participating in the search. We also expect the arrival of the Serbian Gendarmerie's Diving Unit to assist in locating the remaining illegal migrants,” Dacic added.

Five migrants found dead

Assistant Director of the Civil Protection Administration of Republika Srpska, Dragan Kos, confirmed to N1 that the bodies of four migrants have been recovered from the Drina River near Bratunac. The tragic incident occurred during the night when a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized as they attempted to cross the river from Serbia between the areas of Drlaca in the municipality of Ljubovija and Orlica in the municipality of Zvornik.

Kos emphasized that the search operation is ongoing, with efforts focused on thoroughly surveying the area. “So far, four bodies have been retrieved,” he stated.

One hour later, the Civil Protection Administration confirmed that one more body had been recovered.

This incident was reported to the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina at 5:20 AM.

“We have information that there were about 30 migrants on the boat, 15 of whom made it to the shore,” said Boris Trninic, Director of the Civil Protection Administration of Republika Srpska. He added that “at the request of the Bratunac municipality, the fire rescue units from the Civil Protection Administration's water rescue team in Bratunac were deployed to the scene,” as reported by RTRS.

Trninic also noted that the Civil Protection Administration's water rescue team is continuing the search with two boats and crew members.

Earlier, it was reported by Srna that the Zvornik Police Department detained 14 migrants, confirmed to be from Morocco, who were being smuggled across the Drina River near Bratunac. One of the boats capsized, leading to the current rescue and recovery efforts.