Migrant boat capsizes on Sava River in Croatia, leaving dead and injured

A boat carrying migrants capsized in the early hours of December 11 on the Sava River in eastern Croatia, leaving at least one person dead and several others injured, according to local officials, quoted by Associated Press.

The incident occurred near the town of Slavonski Brod, close to Croatia’s border with Bosnia. Rescue teams told state television that the migrants had been attempting to cross the Sava River in thick fog when their vessel overturned.

Ivan Vuleta, head of the town’s firefighting service, said emergency responders received a distress call at approximately 5:30 a.m., alerting them that people were in the water. Firefighters and rescuers immediately deployed boats to reach those struggling in the river. Vuleta initially reported that three people had died in the incident.

According to police, a Bosnian national is suspected of involvement in people smuggling. The individual has been hospitalised. Authorities have not yet disclosed the nationalities of the migrants.

Many people fleeing conflict or economic hardship in the Middle East, Asia, or Africa undertake dangerous journeys across the Balkans in attempts to reach Western Europe, often relying on smugglers to guide them illegally across borders.

Croatia, a European Union member state, is frequently entered by migrants travelling from Bosnia or Serbia. These countries form part of the so-called Balkan land route, which begins in Türkiye or Greece and continues through North Macedonia before reaching EU territory.

By Tamilla Hasanova