Skopje, 12 January 2025 (MIA) – The country is marking the 17th anniversary of the fatal helicopter crash near Katlanovo’s Blace that claimed the lives of 11 army peacekeepers on their way back from the ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Top officials are taking part in a flower-laying ceremony at the memorial in Blace, and delegations are also paying their 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.