Global rescue teams arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina after deadly floods

Rescue teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina's neighbours and European Union countries have joined efforts to clear the rubble and find people still missing from floods and landslides that devastated parts of the Balkan country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina sought EU help after a heavy rainstorm overnight on Friday left entire areas under water and debris destroyed roads and bridges, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens.

Luigi Soreca, who heads the EU mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said on X that the EU stands with the country and that teams are arriving to help on Sunday.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a candidate country for membership in the 27-nation bloc.

Authorities said Croatian rescuers have already arrived while a team from Serbia is expected to be deployed in the afternoon, followed by a Slovenian team with dogs.

Türkiye, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland and Czechia have also offered help, a government statement said.

Officials said that at least 10 people are still unaccounted for, many of them in the village of Donja Jablanica, in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was almost completely buried in rocks and rubble from a quarry on a hill above.

Residents there have said they heard a thundering rumble and saw houses disappear before their eyes.

Sunday is the date of a local election in Bosnia. Election authorities have postponed voting in the flood-hit regions, but the flooding has overshadowed the vote across the country.

Ismeta Bucalovic, a resident of Sarajevo, Bosnia's capital, said “we are all overwhelmed by these flooding events. We all think only about that.”

Impoverished and ethnically divided, Bosnia has struggled to recover after the brutal war in 1992-95. The country is plagued by political bickering and corruption, stalling its EU bid.