The municipality of Jablanica, where the suspected deaths were reported, was completely cut off as flash floods destroyed roads and railway lines.

The area is about 70km southwest of the capital Sarajevo.

“According to unofficial information, five people lost their lives in floods,” said Majda Kovac, a spokesman for the civil protection office of the Bosniak-Croat federation.

Also today, Bosnia’s tripartite presidency agreed to order military help for the wider Jablanica area.

“Engineering and rescue units and a helicopter … were urgently engaged to provide urgent assistance to civil authorities,” it said in a statement.

Bosnia’s defence minister Zukan Helez said local authorities in the Jablanica area had requested help from the air force to evacuate a child.

Kovac said all roads leading to Jablanica were blocked, adding that authorities had started evacuations in the municipalities affected by the flooding, including 17 people at a mental health hospital.

In Kiseljak, some 20km west of Sarajevo, the waters had largely receded by midday today, leaving people to clean up mud and debris and assess the damage.

In neighbouring Croatia, authorities also issued a severe weather warning for the Adriatic coast and central regions of the country.

Montenegro and Serbia issued similar warnings.