EU force helicopter crash in Bosnia kills four crew

An Italian helicopter in the European Union's EUFOR military force in Bosnia has crashed with four crew members were killed and 11 injured according to a local hospital.

EUFOR said the Chinook CH-47 helicopter crashed while on a "routine mission" in the Brcko region, about 180 kilometres north of Sarajevo.

"As a result of this crash, a number of EUFOR personnel tragically lost their lives, and others were seriously injured," it said in a statement.

A spokesman for Brcko hospital, said three people among the 15 on the helicopter were killed in the crash and a fourth died in hospital.

"Twelve people were brought to our hospital. Unfortunately, a fourth person died from his injuries in hospital," said the spokesman, Salih Ibrahimbegovic.

Media images showed the wreckage of the helicopter on a flat grassy terrain at Gorica, near Brcko.

"EUFOR is conducting a full and thorough investigation of the incident and will release more information as it is verified, and when appropriate," the mission statement said.

An earlier statement said that "no civilian infrastructure, property, or vehicles were damaged, and there were no injuries to civilians".

EUFOR has had a mission in Bosnia since 2004 when it took over from a NATO peacekeeping force that had been present since the country's 1992-95 war.

The current force has several hundred troops from 24 European states, according to its website.

The Irish Defence Forces website states that as of August 2026, there are six Irish personnel deployed at the Headquarters of EUFOR Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina and there are no reports of their involvement in this incident.