On Friday morning, October 30, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto visited the Defense Village set up at Rome's Circus Maximus to lay a bouquet of roses. The tribute was dedicated to the four military personnel who lost their lives in a helicopter crash that occurred on Thursday, October 29, in Bosnia. The victims identified are Sergeants Simone Ruggia and Claudio Marchesi, along with Red Cross volunteers Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Laura Procacci.
The Ministry of Defense announced that the event at Circus Maximus, originally organized for National Unity Day and Armed Forces Day on November 4, has been converted into a place of reflection and solidarity. The space now serves to support the families of the victims and the eleven military personnel who were injured in the incident. Consequently, the inaugural ceremony scheduled for 2:00 PM today was cancelled.
Vice Premier Antonio Tajani is also expected at the Defense Village. He has been in contact since last night with Sarah Castellani, the Italian Ambassador to Sarajevo. This morning, the ambassador visited the hospital to check on the condition of the eleven survivors and facilitated a phone call with Major Gabriele Nori, the pilot who was commanding the aircraft and survived the crash.
The dynamics of the accident remain unclear. Available video footage shows the CH-47F Chinook helicopter, which was engaged in Operation Eufor Althea, spinning on itself while losing altitude before disappearing behind some trees. There appear to be no signs of fire or explosion on board, and weather factors have been ruled out as the cause; it was not raining, visibility was clear, and winds were blowing at approximately 5 km/h. The spin captured in the videos suggests a possible technical malfunction, a hypothesis raised by Minister Crosetto to Corriere della Sera. However, definitive answers will require the results of the ongoing investigation and testimonies from the eleven survivors, none of whom are currently in life-threatening condition. The helicopter crashed in the city of Gorice, in northeastern Bosnia, yesterday afternoon.
Sources: Il Sole 24 Ore Italia.