Skopje, 12 January 2023 (MIA) – The 15th anniversary of the fatal helicopter crash near Katlanovo’s Blace that claimed the lives of 11 army peacekeepers while returning from the ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina was observed on Thursday.

Deputy Defense Minister Bashkim Hasani, Army General Staff Director, Major General Zoran Milevski, representatives from the President’s Office, Petrovec municipality, Operations Command, aviation VING, First Infantry Brigade and family members laid flowers at the memorial in Blace. Delegations also paid respects at the “Strasho Pindzhur” army barracks and Camp Butmir near Sarajevo.

The MI-17 helicopter of the armed forces was en route from Camp Butmir to Skopje when it crashed due to bad weather on Jan. 12, 2008. The Macedonian peacekeepers, who returned from a six-month ALTHEA mission in Bosnia, lost contact with the Skopje airport control at about six miles from their destination.

Lieutenant-Colonel Toni Spasovski, Major Goran Ristovski, Captains Brane Spasovski and Igor Gjoreski, Master Sergeants Slavcho Vasilev and Toni Davitkovski, Staff Sergeants Janko Shiric, Miki Ivanovski, Aleksandar Taskovski and Aleksandar Vasic, as well as Corporal Zlatko Veljanovski were killed in the crash.