Part of the bridge at the border crossing between Bosnia and Croatia collapsed, no injuries reported

Part of the bridge over the Sava River at the Gradiška border crossing between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Croatia collapsed last night, one hour after midnight, after which the border crossing was closed to vehicles and pedestrians.

There was no one on that part of the bridge at the time of the collapse, so there were no injuries.

Police were redirecting traffic all night, Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) reported.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska (MUP RS) announced that the border crossing is temporarily closed, as well as traffic on Vojvode Stepe Street, under the bridge, and Vidovdanska Street.

The mayor of Gradiška, Zoran Adžić, stated that after the collapse of part of the concrete structure and fence on the bridge at the border crossing, the city is in a state of collapse, adding that there are around 200 trucks at the border crossing that need to be redirected.

"Around one hour after midnight, there was an accident and damage to the bridge. The pedestrian walkway with the fence fell and luckily no one was there," Adžić said.

He added that it is now necessary to open a new bridge and border crossing, which has been built but has not been put into operation to date.

Due to the collapse of the bridge at the Gradiška border crossing, Minister of Finance in the Council of Ministers of BiH Srđan Amidžić (SNSD) has scheduled an emergency telephone session of the Management Board of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (ITA) for this afternoon.

"For the sixth time, we will try to open the new Gradiška border crossing. If the queues are not a problem, then maybe it is not a problem even if someone, God forbid, loses their life. Just let politics be the rule," Amidžić wrote on social media.

According to him, today it will be seen whether individual members of the ITA Board are "more concerned with political showdowns or common sense and the normal lives of citizens."

"We hope that this time reason will finally prevail," said Amidžić.

The new Gradiška border crossing was officially opened five months ago, but it is still not in operation, because ITA Board member Zijad Krnjić was against amendments to the ITA Internal Organization Rulebook, which should enable the creation of new jobs, the distribution of employees, and the operational start of the crossing.

Krnjić conditioned the adoption of these necessary changes to the Rulebook on the issue of redistribution of revenues from indirect taxes, and according to his proposal, the RS should pay almost 100 million convertible marks, or more than 50 million euros, to the Federation of BiH.