Ten die as avalanche hits homes in Kosovo

Source: B92, RTS, Tanjug

ZVEČAN -- Ten people from a single family died when a dozen houses were destroyed by an avalanche in the Gorani village of Restelica in Kosovo on Saturday afternoon.

The village of Restelica after the avalanche (Admir Idrizi, www.radiokim.net)

Children are among the victims from the Reka family, the youngest only 18 months old.
A girl was found alive in the snow on Saturday. She was transferred to a Prizren hospital and is now stable.

The avalanche that hit the family homes is about ten meters high and 500 meters wide.

New snowfall and strong wind was hampering the rescue operation, reports said earlier in the day.

Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanović said he was in constant contact with EULEX, KFOR and local representatives “so the residents of Restelica would get help as soon as possible”.

He added that the Ministry for Kosovo would “as soon as possible send all necessary material and financial aid to the residents of Restelica”.

Meanwhile the Kosovo Albanian authorities in Priština announced a day of mourning after the tragedy, while members of the Kosovo Security Force, police and locals are searching for another missing person.

Elsewhere in Kosovo, snowdrifts are reaching up to eight meters in height in some areas, prompting KFOR members to take part in clearing and rescue efforts.

The situation in other parts of Serbia is also difficult, with fresh snowfall in the past 24 hours creating more problems, particularly in southwestern municipalties of Prijepolje, Priboj, Nova Varoš, Čajetina and Sjenica.