DHAKA: Disaster has killed at least 44 people and completely cut off some towns in Serbia and Bosnia.

Thousands crammed into boats and army trucks as they fled their homes in Serbia and Bosnia, after record rainfall turned the Sava River into a deadly torrent and caused the worst floods in the Balkans in more than a century.

Officials said on Sunday that the disaster has killed at least 44 people so far, and some towns had been completely cut off. Rescue teams feared the worst as they were finally able to move in.

Some 10,000 people have been evacuated so far from the worst-affected areas of northern Bosnia, but in some places like the town of Samac, hundreds of stranded people were still waiting to be rescued, according to media. 

"We sent rescue teams into a part of the city we had not been able to access so far. They are entering those areas fearing what they might discover," Mayor Samo Minic told reporters.

It was not clear how many people died in Obrenovac, but officials told our correspondent that they had to wait for water to recede to see what damage had been done.

BDST: 1108 HRS, MAY 19, 2014