Disaster hits Slovenian canoeists

The kayak trip had been dubbed The Final Descent

At least eight people have died and five others are missing after two canoes overturned in raging torrents in south-eastern Slovenia.

Divers pulled the bodies of the dead out of the River Sava. They are still searching for at least five others who were part of the four-boat excursion.

The two boats overturned near an incomplete dam, being built 60 miles (100km) from the capital, Ljubljana.

Prime Minister Janez Jansa said it was Slovenia's worst ever river accident.

He visited the site of the accident, near the Blanca hydroelectric plant, and met relatives of those still missing, as the country's parliament cancelled its Friday session.

"Rescuers are doing everything that is humanly possible," Mr Jansa said from the site on Friday morning.

According to Slovenian media reports, a local mayor who is also an MP was among the victims.

Broke apart

The canoeists had intended to traverse that particular section of the Sava as the hydroelectric plant, when completed, will block the river.

The outing had been dubbed The Final Descent.

But two of the four boats - each with seven people on board - hit trouble late on Thursday.

A Slovenian journalist who witnessed the accident from one of the other boats told reporters that two vessels capsized and broke apart when they hit torrents as they passed through the gates of the dam.

Six bodies have so far been retrieved from the water.

Three people managed to swim ashore, though two died in hospital.

The rescue operation - which has involved a police helicopter, 15 divers and police and firemen - has been hampered by the river's strong currents.