Three children, two aged 15 and one aged 13, died when an old building collapsed in Kosovo, the Albanian edition of Radio Free Europe reported, BTA reported.
The incident occurred on Saturday in the village of Yablanica near the southwestern town of Djakovo. According to police, the minors were inside the building when it collapsed, and the circumstances surrounding the collapse are unknown.
According to Major Milazim Lumi of the Kosovo police, the collapsed object was an old and uninhabited building left over from the last war in Kosovo (1998-1999).
A relative of the victims told local media on Sunday that the children had gone outside to play a few hours before the incident. He added that video footage from nearby houses showed that the collapse occurred at around 4:30 p.m., while the children's bodies were found almost six hours later. Their relatives realized that the children were under the rubble from the vibration of their phones, which rang while they were looking for them.
Kosovo leaders expressed their condolences to the families of the deceased. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani described the incident as tragic and expressed his deepest condolences for the loss, while Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that this triple death had saddened the entire nation and that the Kosovo government stood by the families of the victims. Kosovo Parliament Speaker Glauq Konjufca, among other politicians in the country, called for a full investigation into the case.