ZAGREB, 11 December, 2021 - A search is still ongoing for a 10-year-old girl who disappeared in the swollen Dragonja river on Thursday night as a group of migrants attempted to illegally cross the Croatian-Slovenian border, Istria County police said on Friday.
The police said that a Turkish woman, the mother of the missing girl, had been rescued from the river. They added that a document found indicated that the child was disabled.
About 40 Croatian police officers and divers have been joined by Slovenian divers in the search for the missing girl, Istria County police spokeswoman Suzana Sokač said at the Plovanija border crossing point.
The chief of police in Buje, Boban Robin Paulović, said that Croatian and Slovenian firefighters and hunters had also been involved in the search. He said that the search was hampered by rugged terrain and that drones were also being used.
"I hope we will find the child in good shape, although time is running out," Paulović said.
The girl's mother is recovering in the Pula hospital and is expected to be discharged later today. According to unofficial sources, she is also the mother of the 5-year-old and 13-year-old boys who were found, while the 18-year-old is her nephew.
The Dragonja river is not very deep at the spot where the migrants were found, but has swollen due to heavy rains and the currents there are very strong.
