Brcko mayor declares mourning after four EUFOR personnel die in crash

Mourning and casualties in Brcko

Sinisa Milic, the mayor of the Brcko District, declared a day of mourning on Friday following the deaths of four EUFOR personnel. The crash killed two members of the Italian armed forces, Sergeants Simone Ruggia and Claudio Marchesi, along with two members of the Italian Red Cross Volunteer Military Corps, Lieutenant Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Sergeant Laura Procacci, during a routine operation near Brcko on Thursday. Eleven other people sustained injuries during the accident, but EUFOR reports they are all in stable condition. Two victims were transferred to the Tuzla Clinical Centre for medical care, while the remaining nine individuals are receiving treatment in Brcko. Milic said the pilots tried to keep the aircraft airborne to prevent it from crashing into populated areas and to avoid civilian casualties. He said special recognition should go to the pilots for their efforts to avoid civilian casualties. He described the victims as members of the force deployed to maintain peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and called the mourning a symbolic way of expressing solidarity with the victims’ families and the Italian people.

Mission details and response

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed deep sorrow, stating that the news caused significant distress for the families and those working to maintain peace in the region. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed the identities of the four fallen personnel on Thursday. EUFOR reported that the crash caused no damage to civilian property or vehicles and resulted in no civilian injuries. The organization urged the public to rely on official sources and to avoid spreading disinformation or speculation about the crash. The investigation into the accident is ongoing. EUFOR Althea, an EU-led military operation established in 2004 under a United Nations mandate, supports the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. The mission operates from its headquarters at Camp Butmir in Sarajevo and includes 24 participating countries with a commanding structure that rotates on an annual basis. EUFOR extended condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the service of peace.