Civilian houses damaged

Vladicin Han, May 12 (Tanjug) - NATO fired four missiles on Vladicin Han, near Vranje, on Wednesday night damaging about 50 percent private houses and state-owned facilities, the head of the local authorities Srboljub Cvetkovic has said.

This is the biggest tragedy in the history of this town located on the confluence of the river Vrla into the Juzna Morava River, Cvetkovic told Tanjug.

Cvetkovic said that the NATO bombs killed two high school pupils: Milan Ignjatovic, 18, and Gordana Nikolic, 17.

The NATO missiles made craters five metres deep and 10 metres wide. The blast showered the streets with bricks, smashed windowpanes and pieces of earth.

Apart from apartment buildings, considerably damaged are many private houses, the City Hall, the youth centre, local department store, sports centre, the republican administration building, the district public prosecutor's office, the local elementary school and highschool, a day care centre, the health care centre, numerous shops and other facilities.

The scope of the material damage has not been determined yet. Vladicin Han is now practically a ghost town whose reconstruction will require much time and money.