Three dead as migrant boat capsizes near Slavonski Brod

A small boat carrying 13 illegal migrants capsized early this morning while attempting to cross the Sava River near Slavonski Brod, resulting in three deaths.

A citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been arrested in connection with the smuggling operation. The surviving migrants are recovering in hospital.

Ivica Ostrun, head of the border police in Brod-Posavina County, highlighted the dangers of crossing the river, especially at this time of year.

"When the Sava River rises and overflows its banks, backwater areas form that can appear to migrants as solid ground when they are not," Ostrun explained. "People attempting to move through these shallow, flooded zones on foot often become trapped, risking drowning, hypothermia, or getting caught on submerged trees and branches."

Josip Samardžić, director of the General Hospital in Slavonski Brod, said the survivors are recovering well.

"Empirically speaking, these are young and generally healthy individuals, which is why they have been coping relatively well with the effects of hypothermia. No one is in critical condition," he assured.