Italian Military Helicopter Crash in Bosnia Kills Four, Injures 11

Four people were killed and 11 others injured after an Italian military helicopter crashed during a training exercise in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, officials said, as authorities launched an investigation into the accident.

The CH-47 Chinook helicopter came down on Thursday near Gorice village in the Brcko district, around 180 km northeast of Sarajevo, according to reports from local media and officials.

Italy's Defence Ministry said the deceased included two Italian army personnel and two members of the Italian Red Cross's Volunteer Military Corps. The 11 injured were taken for medical treatment and were reported to be in stable condition.

Initial information from local authorities had put the toll at three dead and 12 injured. However, the number of fatalities rose to four after another victim died in hospital, according to subsequent reports. The European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), which oversees the bloc's peacekeeping operations in the country, confirmed the crash and said an investigation was in progress to determine what caused it.

Images circulated by local news outlets showed the helicopter badly damaged on a grassy patch. Emergency responders attended the site following the incident. EUFOR said the crash did not damage civilian infrastructure, property or vehicles, and no civilians were injured. It called for reliance on verified information while the investigation continued.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto expressed condolences to the families of those killed, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also conveyed sympathy to the victims and their relatives.

The helicopter was operating in support of Operation Althea, the European Union's military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The operation aims to preserve security and support the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which brought the 1992-95 Bosnian war to an end.

EUFOR assumed the peacekeeping role from NATO in 2004 and continues to operate under a United Nations Security Council mandate. Officials have yet to announce the cause of the crash or provide a timeline for the completion of the investigation.