At least 22 people have been killed by floods and landslides that have destroyed entire villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The floods completely destroyed the railway line linking Bosnian towns to the Croatian port of Ploče in a 17-kilometre stretch towards the southern city of Mostar.

Businesses and homes were flooded and livestock swept away, while rescuers are still searching for survivors in the area around the hard-hit southern towns of Konjic and Jablanica.

A spokesman for the Herzegovina-Neretva regional government said it was too early to give figures, but that the damage was extensive.