The European Union expressed this Friday its sorrow over the death of four Italian soldiers in the crash of a helicopter from the European mission EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an accident that also left eleven injured, and conveyed its "full solidarity" to Italy in the face of what it described as a "tragic loss of human life".
"The European Union is deeply saddened by this tragic loss of human life. We convey our most sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives in the service of peace," said the European Union's Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Anouar el Anouni, during a press conference from Brussels.
El Anouni indicated that the crash took place on the afternoon of Thursday, October 29, when an Italian helicopter integrated into the European operation, deployed to support the maintenance of peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, plunged to the ground while carrying out a routine training exercise.
According to confirmation from the European External Action Service, as a result of the accident four members of the mission lost their lives and another eleven were injured, although all of them are currently "in stable condition" and are being medically attended to.
"Europe maintains its full solidarity with Italy in these difficult times. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have lost their lives in service in this tragic accident," El Anouni added.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, had already sent her condolences on Thursday to the Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, Antonio Tajani and Guido Crosetto, respectively, as she explained in a message published on social media.
Accident during a training exercise
The incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. on Thursday in the vicinity of the town of Gorica, near Brcko, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, when a Chinook CH-47 transport helicopter from the European mission crashed for reasons that are still being investigated.
The Italian authorities have specified that among the four fatalities are two soldiers and two members of the Volunteer Military Corps of the Italian Red Cross, while the other eleven occupants of the aircraft were injured, with none of them in critical condition.
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, conveyed after the accident became known her condolences to the relatives of the victims and to all the personnel of the European mission who are living "hours of anguish", describing what happened as a "tragic accident".
The Althea operation is the main military deployment of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina and seeks to ensure a safe and stable environment in the Balkan country, within the framework of the implementation of the Dayton Accords that ended the Bosnian war in 1995.
The European contingent is made up of about 1,100 personnel from around 24 countries, who carry out surveillance tasks, support for Bosnian institutions and reinforcement of stability in the area.