An Italian army CH-47 Chinook helicopter assigned to the European Union's EUFOR Althea mission crashed near Gorice in the Brcko District of northern Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday, killing four personnel on board and injuring 11 others, EUFOR said in a statement. The injured are in a stable condition and are receiving medical treatment.

EUFOR said the crash happened during routine training, that no civilian infrastructure, property or vehicles were damaged and no civilians were injured, and that a thorough investigation into the circumstances and causes of the accident is under way. Italy's Defence Ministry confirmed earlier that one of its helicopters had crashed while operating as part of EUFOR Althea and said the circumstances were being investigated.

Death toll rose from three to four

Brcko District Mayor Sinisa Milic first told local media that three people had died and 12 were injured. A hospital spokesperson later said 12 people had been brought to the hospital in Brcko and a fourth person died there from injuries, leaving the final toll at four dead and 11 injured, as confirmed in EUFOR's statement.

EUFOR appealed to the public to avoid misinformation and speculation about the identities or nationalities of the personnel involved, and to refer only to official EUFOR channels for verified updates. No official cause for the crash has been given.

EUFOR Althea mission

EUFOR Althea is the EU military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which took over from NATO in 2004 to help maintain security and oversee the military provisions of the peace agreement that ended the 1992-95 war. The mission said emergency services and its liaison teams recovered the personnel involved and took them to medical facilities in Brcko.

Sources: EUFOR, Associated Press