Čurug Landfill Fire Rages for Four Days, Residents Report Breathing Difficulties

A four-day-old landfill fire near the Stara Tisa Nature Park in Čurug, Serbia, has left residents struggling to breathe and concerned about air quality. Firefighting crews are on site, attempting to contain the blaze that began on Saturday.

Residents have voiced their distress, reporting difficulty breathing and burning eyes, and a lack of official updates on the air quality. "It was impossible to breathe in the village, especially the day before yesterday," said Miloš Vasin, a civil engineer whose parents live in the village. "Even two or three kilometers away, you couldn't sit outside. Our eyes were burning, our respiratory tracts... there was pain."

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In the village, especially the day before yesterday, it was impossible to breathe. We are two or three kilometers away by air, and you couldn't sit outside. Our eyes were burning, our respiratory tracts... there was pain and it is truly something that is unacceptable.

Vasin, who holds a doctorate and has worked on projects internationally, expressed surprise at the lack of public warning. "I am a civil engineer, a doctor of science too. I got my doctorate in Germany and I am here the last few days and I am surprised that no one informed (the citizens), because I have never experienced anything like this in my projects from America, Germany, Romania, the Middle East... This is really very, very dangerous," he warned.

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I am a civil engineer, a doctor of science too. I got my doctorate in Germany and I am here the last few days and I am surprised that no one informed (the citizens), because I have never experienced anything like this in my projects from America, Germany, Romania, the Middle East... This is really very, very dangerous.

Beyond the immediate health risks, Vasin emphasized the long-term danger posed by the landfill's location. He argued that the landfill should not exist next to a nature park, and that the changing composition of waste, including plastics and electronics, requires specialized recycling. "Such waste requires special recycling, and I would like to appeal for a long-term solution," Vasin stated. "If it costs one euro to move this now, in two or three years it will cost 50 euros, because it is an exponential curve. It is very important to find a comprehensive solution and try to move this, because this is an ecological bomb for Tisa, for Čurug, and for the municipality of Žabalj."

Despite residents reaching out to authorities since Saturday, Vasin noted that responsibility was simply passed between different offices.

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If it costs one euro to move this now, in two or three years it will cost 50 euros, because it is an exponential curve. It is very important to find a comprehensive solution and try to move this, because this is an ecological bomb for Tisa, for Čurug, and for the municipality of Žabalj.