Four Italian personnel have been killed and 11 others injured after an Italian Army helicopter serving with the European Union’s peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina crashed during a training flight in the north of the country.
The CH-47F Chinook came down on Thursday afternoon near Gorice, in the Brčko District, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of Sarajevo. Fifteen people were on board. The helicopter was flying a routine training sortie for Operation EUFOR Althea, the EU mission that oversees implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Italy’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that the dead were Sergeant Simone Ruggia and Sergeant Claudio Marchesi of the Italian Army, and Lieutenant Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Sergeant Laura Procacci of the Italian Red Cross Military Volunteer Corps. Three of the victims died at the scene and a fourth died later in hospital. The 11 injured were treated in Brčko and Tuzla, and officials said none was in a life-threatening condition.
EUFOR said no civilians were injured and no civilian property was damaged in the crash. Both EUFOR and the Italian Ministry of Defence have opened investigations, and neither has identified a cause. Italian media reported that investigators were examining whether the helicopter may have struck overhead power lines, but that possibility has not been confirmed by any official source.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid tribute to the victims on Friday, writing: “Four lives cut short while they were serving Italy. Today my thoughts are with them and with those who love them.” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto extended his condolences to the families, and a European Commission spokesperson expressed the EU’s deepest condolences to Italy.
Italy has commanded the EUFOR Althea mission since January, under General Maurizio Fronda. The mission has operated in Bosnia since 2004, when it took over from NATO’s peacekeeping force following the country’s 1992–95 war, and fatal accidents during its operations are rare.
Sources: EUFOR Althea and Italian Ministry of Defence statements, reported by AFP (https://qncnews.com/2026/10/30/four-people-lose-lives-in-eu-force-helicopter-crash-in-bosnia/); The Aviationist, “Italian CH-47F Chinook Crashes in Bosnia” (https://theaviationist.com/2026/10/29/developing-italian-ch-47f-chinook-crashes-in-bosnia/); Rapporteur, “EU mourns four Italians killed in EUFOR Bosnia mission crash” (https://www.rapporteur.com/news/eu-mourns-four-italians-killed-in-eufor-bosnia-mission-crash/).
