On Wednesday, 21 June the Ministry of Defence issued a statement confirming that a Hungarian military helicopter had crashed in Croatia while on active duty.
According to the Ministry of Defence’s statement:
The Hungarian air force’s two Airbus H145 helicopters were performing air training tasks in the Croatian airspace when one of the helicopters, with three people on board, crashed in the middle part of Croatia under unclear circumstances. Rescue teams have located the wreckage of the helicopter, and during their search, they have found the bodies of two soldiers. The search for their third comrade is still ongoing as of 3 p.m.
The Ministry of Defence immediately started informing the families, the MoD said, and both the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces will provide continuous updates. The Ministry expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
The news was initially reported by 24.hu in Hungary based on the account from Croatian news outlet N1. The site reported that the helicopter had crashed between the villages of Pakovo and Miljevac, and a large cloud of smoke was observed in the vicinity. According to another report, the Hungarian military aircraft was participating in a military training mission and crashed between the areas of Pakovo and Miljevac in the Šibenik-Knin County, in the central part of the Dalmatian coastline.
Contrary to earlier reports, according to 24sata, the crash did not occur in the Krka National Park but in a nature reserve area belonging to the Natura 2000 network.
According to Jutarnji List’s information, the search for the third member of the crew involves the military, as well as the police, the fire department, and the Croatian mountain rescue service. Unofficial reports suggest that the helicopter’s pilot may have collided with a zipline cable, as they did not notice the wire running between the valleys. Following the collision, the helicopter immediately crashed and caught fire.
President of the Republic Katalin Novák expressed her condolences to the families of the deceased on her social media account.
‘My sincere condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers in the helicopter accident. Hungary stands by you! I would like to thank the Croatian rescue teams for their work and the support of President Milanović, who expressed his condolences over the phone,’ Katalin Novák wrote.
