Italian Chinook Helicopter Serving EU Force Crashes in Bosnia, Killing 4 and Injuring 11 of 15 Aboard
An Italian Army CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter crashed on the afternoon of October 29 near Gorice village in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Brčko District, killing 4 of the 15 Italian nationals aboard and injuring 11. The helicopter was flying a routine mission for the European Union's peacekeeping force in Bosnia, EUFOR Operation Althea.
EUFOR said the crash site was about 180 kilometers northeast of Sarajevo and that there were no civilian casualties or damage to civilian property. Brčko hospital spokesman Salih Ibrahimbegović told AFP that three people died at the scene and a fourth died in hospital, and that the injured were in stable condition. Italy's defense ministry said the dead included two soldiers and two Red Cross volunteers.
The cause has not been announced. EUFOR said a full investigation is under way, and Albania's foreign minister offered condolences to Italy.
The EU has maintained a peacekeeping force in Bosnia since 2004, taking over from NATO. In 2008, an EU force helicopter crashed in Bosnia, killing four crew members.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图为CH-47「支奴干」重型运输直升机（资料图，图源：Wikimedia Commons，CC0） / A CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter (file photo, Wikimedia Commons, CC0)
