SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — A helicopter with the European Union peacekeeping force in Bosnia crashed Thursday in the country’s north and “a number” of personnel died or were injured in the accident, according to a statement from the force.
Officials told local media in Bosnia that three people died and 12 were injured in the crash of the Italian CH-47 Chinook in an area around the town of Brcko. The EU force, or EUFOR, said an investigation was underway and more information will follow later.
The Klix news portal carried photos of the wreckage showing a largely destroyed helicopter on a lawn.
The Brcko district mayor, Sinisa Milic, also told the Bosnian Serb RTRS television that three people died and 12 received medical care, including one person in critical condition.
EUFOR said earlier in a separate statement that “no civilian infrastructure, property, or vehicles were damaged, and there were no injuries to civilians.”
EUFOR’s 1,200-soldier mission 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. It operates under a U.N. Security Council mandate.
