Maglaj

"Each time after a person had been taken out, I heard a volley of fire or a single shot," Salkic said.

He recalled that it was raining heavily when he approached the bridge, where he saw police officers in blue uniforms and soldiers in olive-grey Yugoslav People's Army uniforms, as well as members of a unit called the Red Berets.

The Mayor of the northeastern Bosnian town of Bijeljina, Mico Micic, has estimated the cost of flood damage to the town at around 200 million euro.

On Wednesday, he said the devastating floods in May damaged more than 11,000 sites, 7,000 to 8,000 of which were people's homes. Farmland was also destroyed.

Power company workers repairing the transmission system and cleaning the area last week found human bones on the banks of the river Bosna near flood-stricken Doboj.

Lejla Cengic, of the Institute for Missing Persons, on May 26 said the flood had washed away part of the river bank, which is why the bones became visible.

Unconfirmed reports say at least 30 people have died in the devastating floods that have hit Bosnia. Most perished in unexpected flash floods and sudden landslides that have marooned towns and left thousands homeless.

At least nine more victims of the severe floods that have struck Bosnia this week were reported at the weekend. Police said six bodies had been recovered in Doboj, northern Bosnia, as flood waters receded. Three other deaths were reported in Maglaj and Samac.

Landslides around Sarajevo and Tuzla caused by torrential rain have destroyed dozens of homes, while other towns remain flooded, leaving people in need of help with food and water.

Several persons were reported injured when a landslide near Sarajevo destroyed eight houses. Dozens of landslides have occurred in areas round the capital.  

Bosnia's state presidency has deployed the armed forces to help people in Maglaj, central Bosnia, many of whom have no power or drinking water and are trapped in their homes by flooding.

  Photo AP/ Amel Emric