Skopje, 12 January 2024 (MIA) – The country is marking Friday the 16th anniversary from the tragic helicopter crash near Katlanovo’s Blace that claimed the lives of 11 army peacekeepers while returning from the ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Delegations of the Ministry of Defence and Army General Staff, the President's Office, Joint Operational Command, the aviation Ving unit, 1st Infantry Brigade and family members of victims will lay wreaths at the memorial in Blace. A Ving delegation will also lay wreaths at the memorial within the Petrovec-based army barracks.

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 Siric, Miki Ivanovski, Aleksandar Taskovski and Aleksandar Vasic, as well as Corporal Zlatko Veljanovski were killed in the crash.

MIA file photo