Unprecedented floods in Slovenia leave six dead

The death toll from the unprecedented floods in Slovenia has risen to six, as cleanup operations with the assistance of European countries continue, according to media reports on Monday.

Heavy rains since Thursday submerged a large part of the country's central and northeastern regions in the "worst natural disaster" since Slovenia's independence in 1991, said Prime Minister Robert Golob.

On Sunday, one of the participants in the cleanup operations fell into a pit and was killed, while the body of another man was found in a lake, as reported by the media.

However, the police have not yet confirmed this information when contacted by AFP.

On Friday, two Dutch tourists died, and the bodies of two local residents were found on Saturday.

On Monday, rescue teams continued to clear roads leading to the most isolated towns and assess the damages. The government estimated the value of the damages to be over half a billion euros.

Slovenia is a member of the European Union and NATO. It has requested equipment for digging, ready-made bridges, helicopters, and soldiers.

The first truck carrying humanitarian aid arrived in Hungary on Sunday, followed by a helicopter provided by Croatia and Spain.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed that Germany has sent paramedics, expressing his "dismay" at the "terrible disaster caused by the floods in Slovenia and Austria."

On Sunday, the body of a man was recovered from a lake in southern Austria. The heavy rains also triggered floods and landslides in the country.



AFP