The owner of the Sarajevo hotel Hills, Saljo Mrkulić, commented on the incident that occurred yesterday in this facility, when 47 tourists from Israel were left without their passports after they ended up in the trash. He told Nezavisne novine that claims about hotel reception staff deliberately throwing away guests’ passports were false, stressing that they accidentally ended up in the garbage bin.
Mrkulić sent Nezavisne a video recording from the hotel reception showing how a bag placed under the computer—containing, as he claims, the passports of the Israeli tourists—fell into the trash bin while no staff members were present at the reception desk. Only a person on the other side of the counter can be seen in the video.
According to him, unfortunately no one noticed that the bag with the passports had fallen into the trash.
– The passports were on the reception desk, inside a bag, because it was a group. The bag fell into the trash bin with the passports inside. No one noticed it. This is visible in the video. I want to refute these stories journalists and media are inventing. The bag accidentally fell into the trash bin, and then garbage was thrown on top of it, since it wasn’t visible what was inside the bag, that is, that it contained passports. Afterwards, it was taken to the landfill – said Mrkulić.
He emphasized that the hotel management, together with the authorities, is currently trying to provide the Israeli guests with travel documents so they can return home.
He added that these are people who have been coming to the Hills hotel for the past four years.
– They remained in the hotel. We have worked with them for four years and there has never been any scandal. This could have happened to anyone, and it happened now – Mrkulić explained.
As many as 47 Israeli tourists were left “stranded” in the hotel on Saturday after their passports accidentally ended up in a trash bin at the reception, later being transported with the rest of the garbage to a local landfill.
According to the Israeli daily Ynet, whose reporters were contacted by their compatriots, hotel staff allegedly discarded their passports into the trash.
The Israeli paper also reported that “the authorities described the incident as accidental,” though Israelis expressed doubts.
Žarko Laketa, Director of the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, confirmed that the Israeli tourists’ passports in Sarajevo ended up in the trash and said efforts were underway to resolve the issue.
Laketa told BHRT that about 50 tourists were involved and that everything happened accidentally.
The Service for Foreigners’ Affairs confirmed that Israeli tourists may be able to return home as early as tomorrow, as the problem is being resolved urgently.
The director also stated that the hotel provided all necessary conditions for the tourists’ extended stay, who had arrived in Sarajevo on a charter flight.
Source: Glas Srpske
