August 30, 2021 - On the Kornati tragedy 14th anniversary, Croatia remembers the firefighters that fell victim to a blaze on the island of Kornati on August 30, 2007. Of the 13 firefighters at the scene, 12 died on the spot or in hospital, and only one survived - Frane Lučić from Tisno. The event is considered the worst disaster since the Croatian War of Independence with officials dying on duty. 

“An unprecedented firefighting tragedy happened on the Kornati Islands in Dalmatia, Croatia on August 30, 2007. This is the worst disaster since the Croatian War of Independence, with officials dying on duty. The underbrush on the barren, uninhabited side of the island caught fire, and firefighters were called to help. As the summer is the season of fires, Croatia had lent a firefighting plane to Greece to help fight their fires. So there was an urgent need for another means of transportation, and a military helicopter was used to transport firefighters and a water container. The MI-8 MTV-1 helicopter disembarked the water container at one spot, the firefighters at another, and left. That military helicopter has remained the issue of later speculations. Namely, in “Novi tjednik,” a Dalmatian daily, a shocking article by journalist Jelena Devcic was published entitled “Proofs buried, cleaning fluid on the ground.” It has been speculated that the helicopter hit a rock during maneuvering, and besides a blown tire, the tank was damaged with oil and petrol leaking because some oily stains were found on the rocks. The firefighters were soon surrounded by burning underbrush, and they burned.

According to the official expertise that was done later, it was concluded that a burn-out of an inhomogeneous gas mixture occurred by burning vegetation accompanied by strong winds. A similar rare phenomenon was described in Australia in 2003 near Canberra and Corsica in 2000 near the place Palasca. Therefore, besides our leading forensic experts, the leading world firefighting experts were invited to the Republic of Croatia who came to reconstruct the disaster, to find out the dynamics and kinetics of fire, its speed and direction it spread, height and position of the flame, and to assess the freed thermal energy,” reads the official report from Hrvoje Lalić, Professor, Specialist in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Rijeka Medical School. 

Six firefighters from the Sibenik fire department were killed - Dino Klarić, Ivica Crvelin, Ivan Marinović, Marko Stančić, Gabrijel Skočić, and Hrvoje Strikoman, and seven more survived with severe body burns. Five were transferred for treatment in Zagreb (Tomislav Crvelin, Ante Crvelin, Josip Lučić, Karlo Ševerdija, and Marinko Knežević) and soon died from the severity of their burns. The only surviving firefighter, Frane Lučić, was discharged for home treatment after recovering at Split Clinical Hospital.

County Fire Commander Dražen Slavica was the only one charged with the Kornati tragedy, as the only potential culprit for the death of 12 of his colleagues. DORH charged the then fire commander with numerous failures in organizing the intervention, appointing minors to the fire, delaying assistance to the victims, and more. At the end of April 2018, he was finally acquitted of all guilt in a repeated trial. 

An eruptive fire is an official explanation initially presented to the public as the cause of the accident.

“It has been shown that the temperature at the fire site was over 1200°C, and it explained the cause of such a sporadic fire. The cause was the burn-out of an inhomogeneous gas mixture due to the burning of vegetation, carried by a strong wind that swept over the firemen.

The idea that the kerosene from the army helicopter caught fire was discarded as unfounded and improbable. Instead, it was the seasonal receptionist at the Kornati National Park whose cigarette butt started the chain of unfortunate events.

The last question refers to the events after the disaster – why did it take hours to transport the casualties from the island to the mainland, late at night by a naval vessel? Only one fireman survived. Because he developed PTSD and was undergoing treatment, he could not comprehend the whole event but is aware of his colleagues´ death. He was transferred to Bratislava, Slovakia, to have his skin grafted. He wishes to return to everyday life but has a long rehabilitation ahead of him. In principle, most patients return to work after burn injuries. Of course, it depends on the type and severity of the injury, which often requires a long and intensive hospital therapy and other out-of-hospital treatments. Major burns consequentially lead to the failure of organs, sepsis, and shock. The survivors often get damaged muscle-skeletal and circulation systems, but also mental disorders. Deformities, loss of body parts (like the Kornati survivor with a handicapped finger) may trigger serious psychological problems. Social support, the role of family and partners is of great importance. It is not only the direct victims that are mentally scarred. Three weeks after the Kornati tragedy, the volunteer fire company secretary hanged himself. He was a high-school teacher and knew the young victims who used to be his students. The volunteer fire company captain needed psychiatric treatment,” Hrvoje Lalić continued in the official report. 

It took ten years for the state to settle with Frane Lučić. Finally, it was decided that the compensation would be 1.75 million kuna, that he would be paid two monthly rents - 1500 kuna for medical preparations and food and 4500 kuna for help and care. He was also reimbursed for 617 thousand kuna in court costs, all of which, with default interest, amounted to around 5 million kuna as of 2009.

In September 2009, the government commissioned the Ministries of Culture, Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Construction and Physical Planning to announce a call for proposals for the Kornati tragedy memorial's conceptual design to be completed by the anniversary in 2010. On January 29, 2010, it was announced that Zadar architect Nikola Bašić would design the memorial. The plan was to have crosses made of stones as found on the island, which would fit into the landscape. The memorial crosses on the Kornati were completed on May 23, 2010.

A commemoration and prayer for the lives lost are expected at the Kornati memorial park today, with a wreath-laying in the local communities of Šibenik, Vodice, and Tisno. In addition, the memory of the victims will be expressed by all fire brigades, with the sound of a siren at exactly 15:25. They will pay tribute by lighting a candle in remembrance. 

The 14th anniversary will be held internally without guests, unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 situation. Only members of DVD Tisno and the families of the killed firefighters are participating, DVD Tisno announced on its Facebook.

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August 20, 2021 - The 7th round of the Croatian First League was held from August 27 to 29, 2021. This round featured Croatia's biggest derbies - Osijek v Dinamo, and Hajduk v Rijeka. Here's our HNL round 7 recap 

Slaven Belupo v. Hr Dragovoljac (0:1)

Belupo and Dragovoljac opened the 7th round on Friday, August 27, 2021, in Koprivnica.

While the first half went without goals, Belupo's s Glavcic received his second yellow in the 76th minute and Mioc scored in the 86th minute for 0:1 and Dragovoljac's first win this season!

Belupo is currently in 9th place with 5 points, while Dragovoljac is in last with 3.  

Lokomotiva v. Gorica (0:1)

Lokomotiva and Gorica met on Saturday, August 28, 2021, in Zagreb. 

After another scoreless first half, Lovric scored 0:1 in the 74th minute, which was the final score of the match. 

Lokomotiva is currently in 6th place with 10 points, while Gorica is in 5th place with 12 points. 

Sibenik v. Istra 1961 (3:1)

Sibenik and Istra met on Saturday, August 28, 2021, in Sibenik. 

Sibenik scored all three of its goals in the first half - Delic in the 17th, and Jakolis in the 22nd and 32nd. Drena Beljo scored one for Istra in the 74th for the final score of 3:1. 

Sibenik is currently in 7th place with 7 points, while Istra is in 8th with 6. 

Osijek v. Dinamo (0:2)

Osijek and Dinamo met in the first big derby of the weekend on Sunday, August 29, 2021, at City Garden Stadium. 3,175 spectators were in attendance.

Jakic scored for the Dinamo lead before the half for 0:1 in the 33rd minute. Pilj missed a penalty for Osijek in the 58th minute and an own goal by Loncar increased Dinamo's lead to 0:2 in the 65th minute. 

Osijek is currently in 4th place with 13 points, while Dinamo is in 1st with 13 and one game less. 

Hajduk v. Rijeka (1:2)

Hajduk and Rijeka closed out of the 7th round with the Adriatic Derby at Poljud on Sunday, August 29, 2021. 15,967 spectators were in attendance.

Tomecak scored for 0:1 Rijeka in the 21st minute, which Drmic increased to 0:2 before the half (43'). Hajduk's Elez came back with a goal for 1:2, and after numerous attempts, was unable to equalize. 

Hajduk is currently in 3rd place with 13 points, while Rijeka is in 2nd with 13 and one game less. 

You can see the full HNL table HERE.

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August the 30th, 2021 - The Croatian covid strategy for autumn 2021 appears as if it's going to be, at least at this stage, very different to what we witnessed back during the terrible autumn of 2020. More freedom for people is in the works, as is less financial help for businesses.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, ahould we fear the large number of covid cases in September? Many people are ready to take risks just to see their ''old'' everyday life return, but it seems that many still aren't ready to be vaccinated for some reasom, according to a report from N1.

Parts of the catering and hospitality sector which have been closed or limited until now will be opening. This is a decision that will take effect on the first of September, and those who work in this sector will be able to breathe a little more easily, finally. There is, however, always another side of the coin to take into consideration, and that is that the Government is already announcing the possibility of abolishing the financial aid measures introduced last year in an attempt to preserve jobs. This comes with an exception for the most vulnerable enterprises, as further explained here.

There will still be a need for entry with a mask, the proper ventilation of the space and the maintaining of social distancing, but people will hopefully still be satisfied because for the first time in nine months, the closed spaces of coffee bars and cafes are finally set to open.

Especially now that the colder weather is coming, many people will prefer to sit inside as opposed to outside on terraces. Covid certificates will not be required. Those in the industry are already busy preparing for the opening, satisfied with the decision of the National Civil Protection Directorate.

"Finally, they've made a good decision, we're really satisfied, it will mean a lot to many people," said Drazen Biljan from the National Association of Caterers.

The National Civil Protection Directorate has made its decision on the Croatian covid strategy for autumn, and its former member, Maja Grba Bujevic, says that as long as the anti-epidemic measures are properly adhered to, this favourable epidemiological situation will continue.

"If we adhere to all of the measures, nothing will change significantly, as I've already said, it will all depend on us, no one else. I'm not here to discuss economic measures, I'm only interested in getting as few people infected as possible and for as few people as possible to end up needing hospital treatment,'' said the HDZ MP of the Croatian covid approach for the colder months.

A good tourist season and the opening of indoor premises also means the scrapping of Government support for preserving jobs. The Croatian Government claims they are no longer needed, except for those who didn't have terraces or outdoor spaces on which to continue operating, employees in the event industry or travel agencies.

''That's a discriminatory decision, our sector is devastated! Many businesses haven't been able to work for months, we ca't recover so easily and just like that because there has indeed been pure devastation, the economic measures must remain in place and we're appealing for that,'' warned Biljan.

The Government believes that the time for those measures has passed, and the time for job creation has begun. That said, the effects of the global coronavirus epidemic have not yet disappeared.

"Last year, the economy was completely paralysed. Economic circumstances were blocked by the pandemic and the Croatian economy fell by 8 percent, with only Spain, Greece and similar countries which rely heavily on tourism like us experiencing a stronger decline. Montenegro, for example, had a drop of 15 percent. This was followed by the opening up of the economy,'' warned Croatian economic analyst Damir Novotny.

For more on Croatian covid measures, vaccination points and testing centres, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

August the 30th, 2021 - The Croatian company Mi-Plast has a five billion euro solution for plastic waste up its sleeve which could save the a lot of time and money in the future.

As Novac/Vedran Marjanovic writes, Jelena Miketa from the Croatian company Mi-Plast, based in Rijeka, says that she considers it to only be a matter of time before this type of technology comes to life throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

This Rijeka company, with its close cooperation with Spanish partners, has developed a new technology for the decomposition of plastic - Ecometilal. Starting from the fact that within the European Union alone, a quarter of plastic waste ends up in landfills, these Croatian and Spanish partners launched the developmental phase of the Ecometilala project back in 2016 from European Union funds, which was all concluded back in March this year.

"The total research budget of Ecometilal stood at two million euros, and the results of the project showed that the combination of gasification and synthesis is sustainable for recycling plastic waste of a complex composition from different sources," said a report on the topic.

After the completion of the research, the next step is to offer this technology to the economy, and in support of the assessment from the beginning of the text, Jelena Miketa has cited some concrete examples of market interest in Ecometilal.

''Our Spanish partner in the project, Blue Plasma Power, the owner of the KHGP technology patent, is already in negotiations with European investors who see a lot of potential, so the plan is to construct an industrial space in Spain over the next few years, and there are also stakeholders from Saudi Arabia,'' revealed Mi-Plast's Jelena, which is otherwise a family company owned by Davorin Miketa Petek.

The Croatian company Mi-Plast was moved back in 1991 from Banja Luka to Rijeka, and since 1993, it has been engaged in the production, distribution and recycling of polyethylene packaging used in industry, households, construction, agriculture and tourism.

When asked if other Croatian companies are interested in Ecometilal technology, Jelena Miketa said that several companies in the country have expressed interest and support.

''Here in Croatia, support was given to the entire project team and the idea of ​​a new type of chemical recycling of waste, which results in the creation of a new eco-product for a wider purpose. However, Croatian companies still suspect that the initial investment is too expensive, and the procedure is too complicated, and that the initial incentive should come from government agencies that will recognise the long-term benefits for Croatia in the technology of the Ecometilala project,'' she explained.

The aforementioned interest of the state in encouraging the production and use of methyl for the decomposition of plastics stems, among other things, comes from the fact that back in January this year, the Council of the European Union began to apply the relevant EU directive on such waste in landfills.

According to Jelena Miketa, the aforementioned tax amounts to 800 euros per tonne of unrecycled plastic waste, and given the fact that here in Croatia, about 40 thousand tonnes of such packaging is disposed of in landfills, the tax liability of the country for non-recycled plastic waste would amount to a massive 32 million euros per year.

''The estimated value of the use of Ecometilal and the annual operating cost are approximately several times less than the amount by which the EU would additionally tax Croatia for its plastic waste,'' commented Jelena.

Given the additional taxation and other costs of disposing of non-recycled plastics, the estimate of a 5 billion euro market for the Croatian company Mi-Plast's Ecometilal technology seems quite reasonable indeed.

''The application of methyl is wide and diverse in the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and petroleum industries. These industries consume most of the methyl due to the low level of toxicity, the high dissolution power and low viscosity,'' explained Jelena, adding that this is applicable not only as a solvent, but also as a chemical reagent, a base material, as well as as a substitute for other types of solvents in various chemical processes.

''Methylal is also used as a special purpose fuel, as an additive to gasoline fuel. In any case, what's crucial is that the raw material from which this high-potential and widely applicable chemical product is obtained is waste, more precisely, that waste that can't really be recycled by conventional recycling methods, so such waste usually ends up in landfills,'' said Jelena.

Waste that can be used in plants developed by the Croatian company Mi-Plast and its Spanish partners includes, inter alia, multilayer food packaging, heavily soiled packaging, plastic from electrical and electronic devices containing inorganic materials for strength and insulating properties, and plastic from the automotive industry that comes combined with foam, sponge and other textiles.

For more on Croatian companies, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

August the 30th, 2021 - The Croatian September tourism picture is looking promising according to current announcements, with a favourable epidemiological picture continuing and with the cooler post-season rapidly approaching.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, September is just around the corner and cooler weather is finally approaching as summer begins to wind down. Despite this, the season goes on and the Croatian September tourism announcements are very encouraging indeed.

With ferries which connect Split to the surrounding islands full, especially on the way back to the mainland, things don't appear to be slowing down in Dalmatia.

"As for leaving the mainland, there's a little less pressure than we're used to so far, but we can't say the season is over. Slowly, passengers are still arriving in a somewhat slower rhythm, but they're coming,'' said Jelena Ivulic from Jadrolinija.

As for the ferry to the Italian port of Ancona, more tickets are being purchased as travellers from across the Adriatic is neighbouring Italy end their traditional ferragosto, writes N1.

A young married couple from France have been cycling from northern Europe to the south since the beginning of August, and the icing on the cake, they say, is Croatia.

"If I had a second chance, I think I'd choose another period. In August there's heavy traffic and a lot of people. It’s really hard for us on bikes. Now we're going to Vela Luka, we will tour the island with our bicycles. It will be nice, there's less traffic and we hope for some sun,'' said Philip.

At Split Airport, a similar situation as the one with the ferry port can be seen. In August alone, this airport recorded over 400 thousand passengers, which exceeded the results from the previous July. This weekend, however, departures are taking over that previous figure.

"We have a constantly higher departure at this time of year, which is traditional, but the arrivals that are still coming into the country can't be denied.'' said Mate Melvan from Split Airport who is seeing for himself what the Croatian September tourism picture is likely to look like.

As some leave the country and others arrive, landlords renting out their private/family accommodation facilities can finally rub their palms together and breathe a sigh of relief after such hardships caused by the pandemic and the epidemiological meaures. Split's renters are optimistic and have hopes for the continuation of the post-season too.

Of course, the epidemiological situation and the vaccination rollout not only here in Croatia but across the rest of Europe and the world remains key for tourism, but the fact is that we have, somewhat unexpectedly, approached the result from the record pre-pandemic 2019, which very few could have ever predicted.

For more, make sure to follow our travel section.

August the 30th, 2021 - Mljet National Park digital maps which have been developed in cooperation with the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS) are set to provide the southern Dalmatian national park's many visitors with additional safety.

As Ljubica Vuko/Novac writes, riding along a picturesque eleven-kilometre-long bike path around the lakes, sailing on solar-powered catamarans while taking a panoramic ride, hiking and mountaineering along roads and recreational trails are just some of the ways to get better acquainted with the gorgeous Mljet National Park and enjoy the natural beauty of this area. Mljet National Park is the first Croatian national park ''at sea'' and is also the oldest marine protected area in the entire Mediterranean.

In line with the aim of protecting nature and sensitive ecosystems, NP Mljet has replaced its old diesel-powered boats with three solar-powered electric boats over the past few years, which take care of all of the transport of visitors across the lakes. Their purchase was co-financed in the amount of 80 percent by the Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency, and thanks to EU grants allocated to them for a project aimed at improving the visitor infrastructure, enriching the quality and number of tourist, educational and recreational facilities of the park.

Among other things, a lookout on the top of Montokuc was constructed, a car park on Vrbovica was created, a presentation centre was constructed, and promenades and hiking trails were set up. And that's not all, there are even more activities within this EU project.

''We also renovated the road around the lake, which was in a very poor condition. It's now an ideal 11 km long bike path,'' said Ivan Srsen. Digital solutions that facilitate work in the national park, but also provide visitors with more opportunities, are also important in improving the visitor infrastructure.

Srsen added that ticket sales have now also been fully digitised, so that it can be known how many visitors are at a specific location at any given time. ''It's important for us to know that some locations may become overloaded. We digitised the sales process a few years ago, and now we’re perfecting it by doing a visitor management study. The results of the study will show how many visitors there may be at any given time in individual locations. So, we'll regulate their numbers if necessary,'' explained the director.

Visitors to the Mljet National Park usually come in group visits, but a large number of visitors come in their own organisation, as such, they devised a new project to give visitors ideas for tours and to make it easier for them to move around.

''This year, in cooperation with HGSS, we've created several recreational routes, and created Mljet National Park digital maps that will be available on the web application, which we plan to release at the end of September. For example, when you come to Pomena, you'll have a map of the national park and you'll see a route you can go around. Here you have a QR code that you scan and by navigating on your mobile phone you follow the route you've chosen,'' said Ivan Srsen.

There is also a shorter description of the trail on the brand new Mljet National Park digital map, such as the Pomena-Polace recreational trail which is 5 km long. Making sure your phone has enough battery power is necessary, and as some parts of NP Mljet don't have a mobile signal, users will need to make sure they scan the QR codes when in areas which are covered by mobile signal.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 29 Aug, 2021 - The 9th World Literature Festival, to be held in Zagreb on 5-11 September, will host more than 50 international and domestic literary stars from as many as 16 countries from three continents, the Fraktura publishing house, the event's organiser, has said.

The festival will feature more than 30 literary events, two theatre plays as well as exhibitions of works by Croatian painters whose works are inspired by novels, story books or poems.

This year's festival focuses on Slovenian literature and the 100th anniversary of the French Institute in Zagreb.

The biggest stars of this year's event are Belarusian Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich and Spanish writer Manuel Vilas. The festival will also host Javier Cercas, Svetislav Basara, Michael Martens, Karl-Markus Gauss, Dror Mishani, Philippe Claudel and others.

Admission will be charged for most of the festival events that will take place at the Croatian Music Institute (Hrvatski glazbeni zavod, HGZ) and tickets are available at  https://hgz.kupiulaznicu.hr/ and at the HGZ.  

Visitors will be required to have a COVID-19 certificate, a certificate proving that they have recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months and received one dose of the vaccine, or a negative PCR test (not older than 72 hours), or an antigen test (not older than 48 hours).

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ZAGREB, 29 Aug, 2021 - The 17th edition of the International Experimental Film and Video Festival 25FPS will take place in Zagreb on 23-26 September.

The 2021 Competition Programme features 27 innovative films from different parts of the world, including three from Croatia.

The topics the authors of this year's selection dealt with include the impact of different social crises and turmoil on our personal identities and relations with others.

This year, the Grand Jury consists of Australian director Pia Bord, German curator Katrin Mundt and Croatian multimedia artist Ivan Marušić Klif.

Each of them will award a Grand Prix, and the films are also competing for the Critics' Jury Award and the Audience Award. Croatian films are also competing for the Green DCP Award, handed out by the 25 FPS Association for Audio-Visual Research.

Admission to all screenings and festival programmes is free.

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