RAILWAYS IN CRO DANUBIAN AREA SEVERELY DAMAGED

VINKOVCI, July 31 (Hina) - Under the organization of the UNTAES, Croatian Railways workers from Vinkovci and Osijek and railway workers from the occupied Croatian area on Wednesday viewed the situation on all railways of the Croatian Danubian area via helicopter. They looked at the Vinkovci-Gabos Osijek, Vinkovci-Vukovar, Vukovar-Dalj-Osijek and Osijek-Beli Manastir-state border railways. #L# Great damage was seen on almost all sections, there are no traffic signals, no railway, no sleepers. The Croatian railway workers and UNTAES representatives had been startled by the situation because the damages were by far larger than estimated by the Croatian Railways, Croatian Railways director in Vinkovci, Ivo Mikulek, said after his return to Vinkovci. Almost all of the Vukovar-Vinkovci railway is gone, as well as the train station in Brsadin. Some 15 kilometres of the railway is missing. Workers have completed the Mirkovci train station and when a written confirmation from the UNTAES arrives saying that the railway to Tovarnik has been cleared of mines, construction will continue on the railway in Jankovci. (hina) lm 311747 MET jul 96