More than 150 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in Kakanj, central Bosnia, because a major landslide from huge piles of soil and mine waste from a nearby open pit coal mine threatens to bury their villages.
Some 40 homes in the villages of Ribnica and Mramor that are in the direct path of the slide were evacuated today, AP reports.
The landslide also blocked a local river, creating a lake and raising fears of flooding. Parts of a nearby road were buried by soil, prompting its closure and several electricity poles were uprooted by the slide, disrupting power in the area.
Management of the Kakanj coal mine said the evacuees will receive compensation for their lost homes and will likely have to abandon their villages permanently.
