SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina — A routine training mission ended in tragedy on Thursday, October 29, 2026 when an Italian CH-47 Chinook military helicopter operating under the European Union Peacekeeping Force (EUFOR) crashed in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, killing four personnel on board and injuring 11 others.
The aircraft went down in an open field near the northern town of Brčko, located roughly 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of the capital, Sarajevo.
Emergency response teams, local authorities, and EUFOR medical personnel rushed to the crash site shortly after the impact.
The total complement on board the heavy-lift transport helicopter was 15 personnel. Local emergency services confirmed that three individuals died at the scene, while a fourth succumbed to severe injuries shortly after being rushed to a nearby hospital in Brčko.
According to EUFOR statements, the remaining 11 injured personnel were transported to regional medical facilities. All 11 are reported to be in stable condition and are receiving specialized care.
"No civilian infrastructure, property, or vehicles were damaged, and there were no injuries to civilians on the ground," EUFOR confirmed in an official statement.
EUFOR officials confirmed that a comprehensive and thorough technical investigation into the cause of the accident is already underway. Military aviation experts are examining the wreckage to determine whether mechanical failure, environmental factors, or human error contributed to the crash.
Italian defense authorities, along with EUFOR leadership, expressed deep condolences to the families and colleagues of the fallen peacekeepers.
The European Union Force, operating under the banner of Operation Althea, took over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia and Herzegovina from NATO in 2004. Operating under a United Nations Security Council mandate, EUFOR deploys approximately 1,200 troops from over 20 contributing nations.
The primary mission of EUFOR is to ensure a safe and secure environment across Bosnia and Herzegovina and to oversee the military provisions of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War. Thursday's tragic crash marks one of the deadliest military aviation incidents suffered by EUFOR in the region since 2008.
Published by Banx Network. This article is part of the Banx decentralized media programme, powered by the BXE token on the XRP Ledger.
