Four Italians killed in helicopter crash during EU peacekeeping mission in Bosnia

ROME--Four Italian military personnel were killed, and 11 others were injured when a helicopter serving with the European Union Peacekeeping mission crashed In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy’s defense ministry said in a statement released Thursday.

  The helicopter crashed Thursday in Gorice, a village near brčko in northern Bosnia, during routine training, the European Union force (EUFOR) said in a press release thursday . Fifteen personnel were on board; there were no civilian injuries or damage to civilian property.

  Defense Minister Guido Crosetto Identified the victims as Sergeants Simone Ruggia and Claudio Marchesi of the Italian Army Aviation, and Lieutenant Adriano Franco Zecchillo and sergeant Laura Procacci of the Italian Red Cross’s Volunteer military corps.

  Two of the injured were taken into intensive care at Tuzla University Clinical Center, with stable vital signs, according to a hospital statement carried Friday by Bosnian broadcaster RTRS. The remaining nine were being treated in Brčko, according to a EUFOR press release.

  Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani spoke by telephone Friday with Major Gabriele Nori, the surviving pilot who commanded the helicopter, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Italy’s ambassador to Bosnia, Sarah Castellani, arranged the call while visiting the injured in hospital.

  Crosetto is expected to arrive in Bosnia on Friday with specialist military doctors to visit the remaining injured, RTRS reported. The defense ministry had already sent a medical team to support their treatment. 

  EUFOR Althea, led by Italian Major General Maurizio Fronda, has operated in Bosnia since 2004, when it took over peacekeeping duties from NATO.

  Italian military authorities and EUFOR are investigating the cause of the crash.

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