A tragic event shook Zagreb on Wednesday afternoon when a 34-year-old woman entered the Sava River near the Jankomir Bridge with her child in her arms. The woman was rescued and taken to hospital, while the search for the child, who disappeared in the water, is now in its second day.

The search was resumed on Thursday morning in coordination with the numerous rescue services. Members of the Zagreb Public Fire Brigade are on the scene with three boats, two jet skis, a drone and a quad bike. Teams from the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS) are also involved with two boats and a drone, as well as specialists from the Lucko Anti-Terrorist Unit and the Croatian Red Cross, who are assisting with their equipment and water rescue experts.

The search area is focused on the section of the Sava River from Jankomir to the Homeland Bridge, while the Zagreb County Fire Department has formed an additional team for the search from the Homeland Bridge towards Rugvica village.

The commander of the Jankomir fire station, Zoran Goricki, described the current situation: “From Jankomir to the Homeland Bridge, 50 people are working with seven boats, two jet skis and four drones. Due to the fast current of the river and the difficult conditions, divers are not yet deployed, but we are working to determine an exact position to facilitate the search.”

Kristijan Hmura from HGSS also pointed out the difficult conditions: “Visibility is slightly better than last night, but the low temperatures are still making the search difficult.”

According to Zagreb police, the woman entered the river with her child on Wednesday near the Jankomir Bridge in western Zagreb at around 16:10 on Wednesday. She called the police and said that she entered the river with the child and that the child was missing.

She was rescued shortly afterwards, while the intensive search for the child continues. Police confirmed that all the circumstances surrounding this tragic event are still under investigation.

Milko Krizanovic, the lawyer hired by the woman’s family, confirmed that he is providing legal assistance but declined to give further details.

The family was not under the supervision of the competent regional office, nor were any family protection measures taken by it, said the Institute for Social Work, Zagreb Regional Office, in response to a journalist’s enquiry as to whether the family had been involved in any proceedings with the social services or the Croatian Institute for Social Work, reports Croatian Radiotelevision.