ZAGREB, 1 Aug, 2021 - Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti has sent a letter to his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenković to thank the Croatian authorities and people for helping the Kosovo citizens injured in a traffic accident in eastern Croatia last Sunday. 

Ten people were killed and 45 injured after a Kosovo-registered bus, travelling en route from Frankfurt to Kosovo, veered off the A3 motorway at Slavonski Brod on the morning of 25 July and overturned.

"Your rapid response after the tragic accident at Slavonski Brod, where 10 of our compatriots were killed, the treatment of those injured and care for other passengers show your own great personal qualities and the generosity of the Croatian people," Kurti wrote in the letter carried by Kosovo media.

"Your selfless effort and the effort of the institutions of your country in providing all the necessary assistance to our compatriots has deeply touched our hearts. The people and government of the Republic of Kosovo will never forget this act of humanity and solidarity with our tragedy," he said.

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ZAGREB, 31 July, 2021 - Croatia and Kosovo act together in accidents, such as one that occurred on the motorway in eastern Croatia last week when 10 Kosovo citizens were killed, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in an interview with the Kosovo Albanian website Albanian Post.

"In accidents we stand and act together. We showed this not just in this accident, but also in earlier crisis situations and emergencies in the last 30 years," Plenković said.

"Croatia and Kosovo have good bilateral relations and understand each other well because we know how challenging the road to independence and state-building is," he added, recalling that Croatia had been among the first countries to recognise Kosovo's independence and was actively advocating its European path.

A Kosovo-registered bus, travelling en route from Frankfurt to Kosovo, ran off the A3 motorway at Slavonski Brod last Sunday. Ten Kosovo citizens were killed and another 10 seriously injured. All Croatian emergency services responded promptly, providing medical and other assistance to those injured and arranging accommodation for those uninjured. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti visited the injured passengers.

"Prime Minister Kurti wanted to visit the Kosovo citizens. He showed great commitment to his people and to those involved in this great tragedy that occurred," Plenković said.

The representative of the Albanian minority in the Croatian parliament, Ermina Lekaj Prljaskaj, also provided a great contribution, he added.

"All relevant Croatian services and institutions responded promptly and made maximum effort to help the people involved in the accident, both those who were injured and those who were not," Plenković said. "The Croatian authorities did for the Kosovo citizens what they would do for Croatian citizens" and the rapid response prevented "the number of casualties from increasing."

An image of the Croatian flag, with an inscription saying "Thank you, Croatia", was projected on the Kosovo government building in Priština on Friday as a sign of gratitude to Croatia for helping the bus crash victims.

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ZAGREB, 26 July 2021 - The prime ministers of Croatia and Kosovo, Andrej Plenković and Albin Kurti respectively, have visited the passengers injured in the bus accident that occurred on the A3 motorway at Slavonski Brod early Sunday morning. 

The Kosovo-registered bus with 67 passengers and two drivers on board, en route from Frankfurt, Germany to Kosovo, ran off the motorway at Slavonski Brod, eastern Croatia, at 6.20 am on Sunday, as a result of which nine passengers and the driver who was resting were killed. Forty-four passengers were injured.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Kurti flew into Slavonski Brod on Sunday evening aboard a Croatian army helicopter deployed in Kosovo as part of the KFOR peacekeeping mission. He was welcomed by Croatian Prime Minister Plenković, who had visited the injured passengers earlier in the day.

"I am glad that the prime minister of Kosovo promptly arrived in Croatia," Plenković said. Kurti said that this was a hard day for the people of Kosovo, extending his condolences to the families and friends of those killed and wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.

Kurti thanked Plenković for the assistance provided by the Croatian government as well as the doctors at the Slavonski Brod hospital where the majority of the injured passengers are being treated.

"I visited all the patients and I want to thank the hospital's directors and all staff who are looking after the patients," Kurti said. He was accompanied by Kosovo's foreign minister, interior minister, health minister, and presidential chief of staff.

The two prime ministers also visited the passengers who were not injured, who are accommodated in a boarding house in Slavonski Brod.

Plenković reiterated that Croatia would provide all the necessary assistance.

Kurti said that Monday would be a day of mourning in Kosovo.

The Croatian police and prosecutors have opened an investigation, confirming that the driver has been arrested after admitting that he fell asleep for a moment.

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ZAGREB, 25 July, 2021 - Ten people have been killed near Slavonski Brod on Sunday morning when a Kosovo bus they were in skidded off the road, county police said.

Police received a report at 6.20 am that a bus had crashed near Slavonski Brod.

Trut: Nine passengers and driver killed, there were children aboard as well

Speaking to the press in Slavonski Brod, Civil Protection head Damir Trut said nine passengers and a driver were killed when the bus with Kosovo licence plates skidded off the road and that there were children inside. He added, however, that he could not say if they were among the casualties.

"There were 67 passengers and two drivers in the bus... Forty-four passengers have been hospitalised in Slavonski Brod, eight of them seriously injured. Fourteen passengers and the other driver are at the police station, waiting for accommodation to be provided," Trut said.

President, PM, foreign minister extend condolences

"I sympathise with the authorities and people of Kosovo at this sad moment for them all. I wish the injured passengers a speedy recovery," President Zoran Milanović wrote on Facebook.

"We received with great sorrow the news of the bus skidding off the road near Slavonski Brod, in which ten people have lost their lives. Our thoughts are with the victims' families and the Kosovo authorities and people, to whom we extend deep condolences and sympathy," Prime Minister Andrej Plenković wrote on Twitter.

He said he hoped the injured passengers hospitalised in Slavonski Brod would recover.

"I called Minister (Donika) Gërvalla-Schwarz and extended condolences to the people and the families of the victims of the tragic bus crash that happened in Croatia this morning," Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman wrote on Twitter.

"I expressed hope that those injured will recover soon," he added.

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