STA, 4 June 2019 - A Brit who went missing in the treacherous Koritnica gorge five days ago was found dead in the Koritnica river on Tuesday, police confirmed today.
The 23-year-old was identified by his parents after his remains were retrieved from the river this morning, a police spokesman said.
The body was spotted by a group of German kayakers some 300 metres downstream from Kluže Fort, an old military checkpoint positioned over the gorge.
The man was visiting the fort when he dropped his phone into the gorge on Thursday. After realising he will not be able to reach the device from the fort, he and a friend drove about half a kilometre upstream, where the river is easier to access.
While the 23-year-old went to search for his phone, his 27-year-old friend waited in their van. After about an hour, police was contacted and a search and rescue mission was launched.
The five-day effort to find the man involved specialised mountain police officers from three regions, a special diving unit, firefighters and the mountain rescue service.
Water level was rather high when the man went missing, following a rainy spell. Today, the water level was about a metre lower, police spokesman Dean Božnik said.
