SARAJEVO: A landmine dislodged by devastating floods in the Balkans exploded in Bosnia, officials said yesterday, hurting no one but highlighting the dangers of a huge clean-up operation as governments began counting the costs.
The device, one of an estimated 120,000 mines left over from the 1990s Yugoslav wars, went off overnight in the Brcko district of northern Bosnia, the national Mine Action Centre (MAC) said.
A fridge containing nine explosive devices was also found in a flooded garden, it said. Other dangerous finds included a rocket launcher and a large plastic bin full of bombs and ammunition, also thought to date from the 1992-95 war.
“Some mines are made of plastic and they float like plastic plates,” said Fikret Smajis from the MAC. “But even those made of iron... can be easily washed away.” Visiting Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Sarajevo that the alliance was ready to help Bosnia as many member states have already sent helicopters and special expert teams to the country. “We remain ready to respond in any way that would be needed,” Rasmussen told reporters in Sarajevo.
Water from the worst floods in more than a century, which have killed 51 people and forced the evacuation of almost 150,000 people in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, has started to recede in some areas.
But the situation remained tense in both in Serbia and northeast Bosnia in the wake of days of torrential rain in southeast Europe last week that caused the river Sava and its tributaries to burst their banks.
AFP
