Italian military helicopter crash in Bosnia kills four and injures 11, EU force says

An Italian military helicopter serving with the European Union peacekeeping force in Bosnia crashed during training on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 11, The Independent reported. The force, known as EUFOR, said the injured were in stable condition and receiving medical treatment. The outlet identified the aircraft as a CH-47 Chinook.

The helicopter came down in northern Bosnia, in an area around the town of Brcko, according to a statement from EUFOR cited by The Independent. The outlet reported that the crash occurred during routine training. The available account does not identify the people killed or injured, or specify their roles in the mission.

EUFOR said the crash caused no injuries to civilians and did not damage civilian infrastructure, property or vehicles. Those statements distinguish the reported harm to the four people killed and 11 injured from any impact on civilians or civilian assets. The force said it had begun an investigation and would provide further information later.

EUFOR described the inquiry as “thorough and complete”; the Independent’s excerpt did not provide findings or an explanation for what caused the crash. EUFOR’s mission includes 1,200 soldiers. The Independent said the force took over from NATO in 2004 to help maintain security and oversee the military provisions of a peace agreement that ended the 1992–95 war.

That context describes the mission’s role; it does not establish any connection between the agreement and the crash. The reported next step is EUFOR’s investigation and its promised further information. The account does not say when the inquiry will conclude or when the force will issue an update.

The four deaths and 11 injuries remain the reported human toll, while EUFOR’s statements put the reported civilian impact at none.