The remains of four EUFOR personnel from the Italian Armed Forces, who died in a helicopter crash near Brčko, were transported from Tuzla International Airport to Italy this morning with full military honors.
The transport of the bodies of the fallen Italian Armed Forces personnel was conducted with the highest military honors.
The helicopter crash occurred on Thursday, October 29, when an Italian Armed Forces CH-47 Chinook military helicopter went down during routine flight training in the area of Gorice, near Brčko.
There were 15 people on board at the time of the crash; four died, while the remaining 11 soldiers sustained injuries and were urgently hospitalized at medical facilities in Brčko and the University Clinical Center in Tuzla.
No civilians were injured in the crash, and there was no damage to civilian property or infrastructure.
Those who died in the accident include: Army Sergeants Simone Ruggia and Claudio Marchesi, Lieutenant Franco Adriano Zecchillo, and Sergeant Laura Procacci of the Italian Red Cross.
Competent EUFOR authorities and investigative teams have launched an extensive investigation to precisely determine all circumstances and technical causes that led to the helicopter crash. An Italian crew and a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter were deployed as part of EUFOR Operation Althea—a European Union military mission tasked with supporting the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in maintaining a safe and secure environment, as well as overseeing the implementation of the military aspects of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH.
