Army Helicopter Goes Down Near Sarajevo, Italian Crew Injured, NATO Training Exercise Suspended Immediately

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina— An Italian Army CH-47 Chinook went down in central Bosnia just after 11:00 local time during a planned low-level training run, cutting short a joint exercise and forcing a full-scale mountain rescue operation.

The aircraft was operating out of Sarajevo with three crew on board, according to an initial statement from the Italian defense staff. It was flying a logistics route used for NATO support missions when it lost contact. Ground teams located the wreckage two hours later on a forested slope south of the capital. The terrain made access slow.

Bosnian civil protection units reached the site first. They reported heavy fuselage damage and a debris field spread across 200 meters. One official described the scene as a hard impact with no post-crash fire. Italian troops from the base secured a perimeter and blocked access roads while medics worked their way in.

Two crew members were pulled out alive with serious injuries, a Bosnian rescue coordinator said. The third was trapped in the cockpit section. "We had to cut through metal to get them out, the wind was strong and visibility was dropping," he said. All three were airlifted to Sarajevo for treatment.

The CH-47 fleet involved in the Balkan rotation was grounded immediately after the incident. Italian commanders canceled remaining sorties for the day. A senior officer in Rome said the flight was routine, weather was within limits, and the crew were experienced. He said it was too early to point to mechanical failure or pilot error.

Local residents near the crash site said they heard a low, labored engine noise before the impact. One farmer said the helicopter was flying unusually low over the ridge, then disappeared behind the trees. He heard a dull thud, not an explosion. He called emergency services.

Bosnia's Directorate for Civil Aviation said it will assist with the technical investigation but jurisdiction remains with Italian military authorities. Flight recorders, if intact, will be sent to Italy. Maintenance logs from the last 72 hours are being pulled.

The exercise, which included airlift and medical evacuation drills, involved around 400 Italian personnel. It was scheduled to run through next week. Its future is now uncertain.

Crews remained on the hillside overnight to stabilize the wreckage and recover sensitive equipment. Investigators are expected to start a full examination at first light.