Tunnel of Salvation

VR: Sarajevo Graphics Group

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo

The escape tunnel was a vital facility for supplying Sarajevo with food, fuel, medicine and other necessities during the siege. The tunnel was dug in the spring of 1993 by the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the runway of the Sarajevo airport. The tunnel was 785 meters long, about 1 meter wide, and about 1,5 meters high. A private house masked the entrance. The tunnel connected Dobrinja and Butmir, two territories under the control of the Bosnian Army. It is estimated that between 3,000 and 4,000 soldiers, civilians and representatives of international organizations passed through the tunnel every day, and that an average of 30 tons of goods were transported daily, despite the narrow space and frequent floods. During 1994, rails with trolleys were installed to facilitate supply. In today’s museum dedicated to the Tunnel of Salvation (Tunel spasa), visitors can see part of the tunnel and the equipment used for transport, as well as an exhibition of photographs and other objects depicting life in Sarajevo under the siege.