Migrants shouted, "brother, river" - 4 disappeared in the Danube: Gendarmes are searching for them

On the bank of the Danube between Apatin and Backi Monostor, in northern Serbia, four migrants disappeared in the river on Sunday while trying to cross to Croatia.

A group of migrants stole two boats, not far from the village of Vagoni, which is about ten kilometers from the town of Apatin, and tried to cross the Danube and reach Croatia.

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The first to learn that four migrants had disappeared in the waves of the Danube were local beekeepers, who were previously told by fishermen that migrants were destroying their beehives on Sunday afternoon.

"I came to see the beehives after I was informed. There was something to see. They did great damage to me. They lit a fire not far from here, there were about 50 of them. After my arrival, after 15, 20 minutes, they went in the direction of the transmission line towards Backi Monostor. We stayed there until the (police) patrol arrived. Then these migrants came running towards us, shouting, 'brother, river'. It turned out that they tried to cross the river and that someone drowned," says beekeeper Milorad Prijic.

According what the migrants who managed to come back from the Danube said, four of their relatives and friends fell out of the boat and disappeared in the river.

Divers from Apatin did not receive orders to go searching for the missing, but, as the broadcaster RTV unofficially learned, members of the Gendarmerie will do this job. Weekend home owners say that a large number of migrants have been spotted hiding in the woods these last days causing damage as they wait for the right time to cross the river.

"It was worse when the fire was burning here, the door was broken down, neighbors' beehives were torn apart, they ate the honey, set this on fire. And the fire almost spread, it was huge. So we salvaged what we could. Then they simply up and left, there were about ten of them. They went in the direction of the Danube," says Branislav Mijic, who owns a weekend home in the area.

Out of the ten, six returned and sought help. The investigation is ongoing.

(Telegraf.rs/RTV)