Emergency contacts and what to say
Giving your location
Give the town and street, road or named visitor site, then the entrance or nearest junction, motorway exit or kilometre marker. On a road, add the direction of travel; in the mountains, give the route and your position.
Say what happened, how many people need help and any immediate hazards. Give a reachable callback number and ask for English if needed. A companion can keep the address ready while you follow instructions and stay on the call.
If the short-number call does not connect
If a short-number call fails, ask a nearby person, hotel reception or shop worker to call from a local phone. Give the same service and location details. Use any published full number exactly as listed; adding +387 and a city code to a short code does not create a valid full contact.
Sarajevo Canton’s civil-protection centre lists +387 33 556 670 and +387 33 556 672, alongside 121. Its fire-dispatch contact is +387 33 257 330, alongside 123. These are Sarajevo Canton contacts; use them with their stated local role.
Mountain rescue: the station for your outing
For a Sarajevo-area mountain outing, Mountain Rescue Sarajevo lists +387 62 654 456 and +387 61 299 443, with 121 for the information centre. Save them with the guide’s contact and route before departure.
For another mountain, identify the responsible rescue station before the outing and leave the route and expected return with someone. If help is needed, give the last known position, party size and injuries. Keep contacts with the offline map; do not take an unknown shortcut to find a signal.
Roadside help and vehicle recovery
For a vehicle breakdown, BIHAMK lists 1282 and +387 33 282 100 for callers outside Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a 24-hour dispatch centre. Give the registration, road and direction. Ask the provider or hire company about coverage, recovery and charges.
On the Republika Srpska motorway network, Autoputevi RS directs breakdown enquiries to Auto-moto savez Republike Srpske on 1285. If someone is injured or in immediate danger, seek the emergency service first.
Fire, severe weather and suspicious objects
For a fire or wildfire, call fire service 123 and give the location. During floods, landslides or severe weather, follow instructions from local authorities and emergency services. Use ambulance 124 for an urgent medical emergency.
Do not approach, touch or move an object that could be a mine or unexploded munition. Report what you can see and its location to police on 122, without moving closer to inspect it. Follow official instructions and respect mine-warning signs.
After urgent help is under way
Once urgent help is under way and it is safe, contact the insurer, hire company or travel provider. Keep the incident reference and later invoices. Photographs must not delay help. Use the health guide for treatment arrangements and consular help for your nationality’s document and support route.
Use local emergency services for an incident. Visit BiH travel enquiries cannot dispatch responders or monitor a rescue.
Short phrases and a saved location
“Trebam pomoć. Govorim engleski.” means “I need help. I speak English.” “Adresa je … u …” gives “The address is … in …”. “Jedna osoba je povrijeđena.” means “One person is injured.” Use a short statement, then follow the operator’s questions.
If asked for coordinates, read them from the phone’s location screen without guessing. Indoors, add the floor and entrance. Keep the room address and a contact available on paper as well as the phone. A companion can share the location while you speak.