The Prosecutor’s Office of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK) has not yet opened an investigation into this case, four months after the death of 19 residents of Donja Jablanica, the prosecutor’s office said.
Spokesperson for the HNK Prosecutor’s Office Ana Raič said that they are conducting pre-investigation activities related to the tragedy that occurred in the area of the Jablanica municipality.
“The prosecutor’s office has received the findings and opinion of the court expert in geodesy, while the permanent court expert in geology has been ordered to take the necessary actions within the scope of his profession, with special emphasis on the role of the existing quarry at the Donja Jablanica location, using all available data and documentation, as well as satellite images and images collected via lidar in 3D projection,” the information from the HNK Prosecutor’s Office states.
At the beginning of this year, the HNK Prosecutor’s Office was submitted an additional police report with accompanying documentation, including, among other things, records of the crime scene investigation from all locations, photo documentation, coroner’s findings, and records of witness interviews, and the Prosecutor’s Office says that this documentation is the subject of analysis by the acting prosecutors.
The HNK Prosecutor’s Office previously announced that after the investigation and autopsies of the bodies of the deceased, it was determined that most of the deaths occurred due to suffocation by soil and similar contents.
“By court order, and under the supervision of the HNK Prosecutor’s Office, police investigators seized business documentation from the HNK Ministry of Economy relating to the ‘Sani’ DOO Jablanica Company, which allegedly included the aforementioned quarry, as well as from this company, and its analysis is underway,” the HNK Prosecutor’s Office stated.
Numerous expert reports have been ordered, including those from mining and geodetic experts, and data is being collected from the Federal Hydrometeorological Institute, as well as data from other institutions and services, and a certain number of people have been heard as witnesses.
In the floods and landslides of October 4, 19 people died in the Jablanica area, five in the Konjic municipality, and three in the Fojnica municipality.
The HNK Prosecutor’s Office has formed a special prosecutor’s team, whose task is, among other things, to determine the possible responsibility and role of the human factor in the tragedy in Jablanica, Srna writes.
