EUFOR Helicopter Crash in Bosnia Kills 4 Italians, Injures 11 During Training

Photo: Reuters via Al Jazeera

Four Italians, two soldiers and two Red Cross volunteers, have died after a European Union peacekeeping helicopter crashed during routine training in northern Bosnia, leaving 11 more people injured.

The Italian CH-47 Chinook helicopter, flying with the European Union Force (EUFOR) in Bosnia, came down on Thursday near the village of Gorice in the Brcko District, about 180 kilometres north of the capital Sarajevo. EUFOR says a full investigation is under way and no civilians were hurt.

Main News Report: EUFOR Helicopter Crash in Bosnia

EUFOR said the Chinook crashed during routine training in the Brcko region. There were 15 people on board. Three died at the crash site, and a fourth person died later in hospital, according to a spokesman for Brcko hospital.

"Twelve people were transported to our hospital. Unfortunately, a fourth person succumbed to injuries in the hospital," the spokesman told the AFP news agency.

All 11 injured are receiving treatment and are in stable condition, EUFOR said. Italy's defence ministry confirmed that all those on board were Italian nationals, and that none of the injured is in a life-threatening condition. The victims were two members of the Italian army and two members of the Italian Red Cross Volunteer Military Corps.

• 4 dead: two Italian soldiers and two Italian Red Cross volunteers
• 11 injured, all in stable condition and receiving treatment
• 15 people on board the Italian CH-47 Chinook helicopter
• Crash site: Gorice village, Brcko District, about 180km north of Sarajevo
• No civilians injured and no damage to civilian property, EUFOR says

Background Context

EUFOR, the European Union's peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has between 1,000 and 1,500 personnel and has been deployed since 2004, when it took over from a NATO peacekeeping force that had been in the country since the Bosnian War ended in 1995. The mission, known as Operation Althea, oversees the military parts of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the deal that ended the three-year war.

Photos published by Bosnian media showed the helicopter wrecked and overturned in a flat field, with rescue workers at the scene. The cause of the crash is not yet known, and EUFOR said more information will follow once facts are verified.

It is not the first fatal EUFOR helicopter crash in Bosnia. In June 2008, four EUFOR members, two German officers and two Spanish helicopter pilots, died in a crash, a reminder of the risks of military flying even on routine training flights.

Reactions and Statements

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said his thoughts were with the families of the dead. "At this moment of immense grief, my thoughts go first and foremost to the families of our fallen, to whom I extend my personal condolences and those of the entire defence establishment," he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed sorrow over the crash, according to Al Jazeera, which first reported the EUFOR confirmation that four Italian nationals had died.

Geo News, citing Italy's defence ministry, reported that the helicopter was taking part in a training operation when it crashed, and that all 11 injured were receiving treatment. Gulf News reported that EUFOR is conducting a full and thorough investigation and will release more information as it is verified.

EUFOR said in its statement: "EUFOR is conducting a full and thorough investigation of the incident and will release more information as it is verified, and when appropriate."

Why This News Matters: Bosnia Helicopter Crash

The crash is a blow to a peacekeeping mission that has kept a fragile peace in Bosnia for more than 20 years. EUFOR's job is to keep the country stable while its ethnic and political divisions are managed through the Dayton deal, and the loss of four peacekeepers on a routine flight underlines the human cost of that work.

For the families in Italy, the loss is sharper because two of the dead were Red Cross volunteers, people who signed up to help others rather than to fight. Their deaths will be felt in the volunteer corps as much as in the army.

The crash also comes at a sensitive time for the Balkans, where Bosnia's stability is watched closely by the European Union. Any fatal accident involving a peacekeeping force raises questions about training safety and equipment, and the investigation's findings will matter for the mission's future flying operations. Readers following other recent transport disasters, from the protests in Madrid after the Spain train crash to the Spain train crash death toll rising to 68 and the Russian drone strike that killed 14 at Dnipro train station, will recognise the same painful pattern: a routine journey turning deadly, then a wait for answers.

Future Developments

EUFOR's investigation will now try to establish why the Chinook went down. Investigators will examine the wreckage, the flight recorders if they survived, weather conditions and the crew's training records. Until that work is done, the cause remains unknown, and EUFOR has asked the public to avoid unverified speculation.

Italy is expected to repatriate the bodies of the four dead in the coming days, and funerals with military honours are likely. The condition of the 11 injured will also be watched, since any change in their condition would change the toll. The next EUFOR statement should give the first official account of what went wrong.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: EU force helicopter crash kills four in Bosnia
• Geo News: Four dead, 11 injured in helicopter crash in Bosnia, says Italy
• Gulf News: Four Italians killed in EUFOR helicopter crash during training mission in Bosnia

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