THERE is an extensive search for a missing Polish man on Biokovo; all the traces of the man were lost on Friday 31 July 2020 at 3 pm, and the last known location of the missing man was in the area between Bukovac and Sveti Ilija. When he went missing, the man was wearing sports leggings, a white shirt, a white-blue cap, and a sports watch on his hand.

Rescuers got information that two Polish climbers saw him, Ante Kukavica, the head of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service confirmed for Morski.hr.

“That was the last time someone saw him after he had sent his wife a photograph and a message. Two Polish climbers encountered him, and he said to them that he didn’t know if he’s going to Sveti Ilija and that he hadn’t had enough water. He knew the path as he is an experienced hiker. He even had a tracker on his watch, and it could have been activated if the internet on his phone had been turned on. It’s popular now to follow them via link because hikers do that when they’re running,” Kukavica says. 

“There was a storm that afternoon, and he went far off, he may be much lower than his last known location. We are also searching for places where people have been making mistakes so far. That is the most difficult area to search and, I have to point out, the most dangerous in the country,” he added. 

“During the search, we literally don’t allow anyone to go there. There were people on the mountain that day, and we managed to get hold of everyone on Biokovo. Except for those two Polish men, no one else saw the missing man,” he explains.

“Statistically, we are looking for a live man”

When questioned about the chance of survival in this intense heat, without water and a possible injury, he said that there is a possibility.

“The chance of survival is such that we found a man on Mljet after 5-6 days in these conditions. The man is young; he is 40 years old, an athlete, and he’s not a reckless tourist; we had to deal with a lot of them. He had a planned route which he had downloaded; this isn’t his first time. Statistically, we are looking for a live man. He’s not on the rocks, or in the sun. He’s in a crevice, or he hid somewhere. This is not a large area for the search, and many people are looking for him, around 30 now, and with the helicopter of the Croatian Air Forces, another 30 people are coming,” Kukavica says optimistically despite the hard conditions. 

An expensive search

But after this action, it should be considered to ban climbing in the most dangerous areas. Kukavica says that it is something to think about.

“We hope to find this man alive, life is priceless, but just for you to visualize things, one should know that this is a cost for the state of between 2.5 and 8 million kunas. Just an hour of a helicopter flight costs more than 50,000 kunas. Did you know how much water they spend during the search on his heat? Ten 1-liter bottles per person, which is costing around 3,000 to 4,000 kunas per day,” Kukavica says, hoping that something will be done in the future, so these searches become an exception, not a rule.

If you have any information about the missing person or you are a climber who encountered the missing person, please contact the nearest police station or call 112 or 00385912130112.