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Russia-made military drone crashes in Croatia: official

Area where the drone crashed was cordoned off by police
Area where the drone crashed was cordoned off by police

A Russia-made military drone crashed in the Croatian capital Zagreb and damaged several vehicles but no one was injured, officials have said.

"A military drone produced by Russia, according to our information, crashed" last night, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.

"At this moment we do not know exactly whether it was owned by the Russian or Ukrainian army," added Mr Plenkovic who spoke to Croatian reporters in Versailles where he is attending a European Union summit.

The drone entered Croatia's airspace from Hungary, the prime minister said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told him it entered Hungary from Romania, Mr Plenkovic added.

All three countries are NATO members.

Local media earlier quoted military aviation experts as saying the device could have been a Soviet-era Tu-141 reconnaissance drone used by Ukraine.

Mr Plenkovic added the cause of the incident had not yet been determined but said the drone flew over Croatia for a few minutes before crashing.

Zagreb also contacted Kyiv to ask whether it had any information on the drone.

Croatia's chief of defence, Admiral Robert Hranj, labelled it a "pretty serious incident" and said Zagreb was discussing the incident with NATO.

Several parked vehicles were damaged, but no one was hurt, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Police rushed to the scene after residents reported that they "felt a detonation preceded by an object falling from the sky", it said.

In a park close to the Jarun lake, some 6m from the city centre, police found a crater and two parachutes nearby, it added.

Police sealed off the site, close to a students' dorm, and temporarily halted public transport in the area.

"Something was falling from the sky and there was a red light," economy student Josip K. told the Jutarnji List daily website.

"The object made a loud sound, like it was accelerating, so people passing by a parking lot started to run away," he said.

Zagreb is located some 550 kilometres flying distance from the border with Ukraine, which Russia invaded on 24 February.