Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Saturday evening that a migrant who was injured in the afternoon as police were preventing illegal migration in the Gorski Kotar area sustained a serious injury and that he was undergoing surgery at a hospital in Rijeka.

The migrant was injured in a clash with police at about 5 pm on Saturday. Officers were trying to prevent a group of illegal migrants from crossing Croatia near Tuhobic, most likely in an attempt to reach Slovenia, Bozinovic told reporters.

According to available information, the injury was probably caused by a firearm.

The Minister said the county Prosecutor’s Office and Police Directorate would investigate the matter.

Asked if the migrants were armed, Bozinovic said he could not answer at the moment because the investigation is ongoing.

The other migrants, about 15 of them, were taken to a police station, he said.