Road of death > Articles

There are several roads in the world that can rightfully be called "death roads." Every year they take dozens of lives of drivers and passengers. These roads do not forgive the slightest mistake, and adverse weather conditions make them a death attraction even for the most experienced drivers. I was “lucky” to ride in one of these nasty, slushy weather and fully feel the breath of death on steep and wet serpentines.

Meet the Kolasin-Podgorica highway in Montenegro. And God forbid you get on it in the rain, and even more so in the dark.

Do not bother

Montenegrin ski resort Kolasin with the country's capital Podgorica connects 70 kilometers of the most picturesque road that runs along the canyon of the Moraca River. On the one hand there is a steep cliff, on the other there is a bottomless abyss, at the bottom of which a mountain river rages.

Until recently, this route was the only way by which it was possible to get from Serbia to the sea coast of Montenegro. This is an international highway, along which heavy trucks go, as well as numerous regular and tourist buses.

Of course, the track is very beautiful. Green mountains, gray sheer cliffs, numerous tunnels and bridges, a blue ribbon of the river, winding somewhere below.

Memory road

But not only beautiful views will accompany you along the way.

Commemorative tablets, crosses, portraits of people who parted in this place with their lives. Sometimes even entire families take the road. It feels like you're going through a cemetery.

A deep chasm leaves almost no chance for a car and its passengers flying off a slippery road. Survivors can consider themselves lucky, if it is generally appropriate to talk about it here ...

Terrible tragedy

The most terrible accidents in these places occurred in 2013 and 2004.

4 years ago, on June 23, 2013, a Romanian bus with 50 passengers flew in to get from a height of 40 meters near the Moraca Monastery. Killed 18 people, and another 29 were injured. The driver exceeded speed on a slippery road and lost control.

But the most heartbreaking tragedy happened on the continuation of this route, already on the side of Serbia, near the border village of Gostun in 2004. On the fateful date, 04.04.04, the Lim river claimed the lives of 12 Bulgarian children. The bus with the children was returning from an excursion from the Croatian Dubrovnik when overheated brakes failed at high speed at one of the turns. Tearing off a cliff, he literally flew into a stormy, deep and cold river.

The first people to arrive at the crash site were the residents of the nearby Montenegrin city of Bielo Pole and members of the football team training here. But the depth of Lima in this place is 6 meters, and without special equipment it was almost impossible to get children and adults out of the sunken bus. Nevertheless, joint efforts managed to save 38 people. But 12 small inhabitants of Bulgaria remained buried at the bottom of the river.

At the site of the terrible tragedy, the parents of the deceased children erected a memorial complex with a sculpture in the form of broken angel wings.

On the plates are the names of 12 children. Nearby are always fresh flowers and soft toys.

Alternative

Since 2011, there is another route on which you can get from Serbia to the Adriatic coast of Montenegro - Zabljak-Niksic-Risan. A wide, smooth road, without serpentines, with chippers and fences in dangerous places. All sane people choose it if they want to quickly and without adventure get to the sea.