Rome funeral honours four Italian military personnel killed in Bosnia crash

The crash in Bosnia

An Italian military CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed on 29 October near Gorica in Bosnia and Herzegovina while taking part in the Eufor Althea mission. The aircraft was on a training flight, and fifteen people were on board in total. Four Italians died: Sergeant Simone Ruggia and Sergeant Claudio Marchesi of the Army aviation, and Lieutenant Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Sergeant Laura Procacci of the Red Cross Volunteer Military Corps. Procacci was taken alive to a Bosnian hospital, where she died shortly afterwards. The Rome prosecutor's office ordered an autopsy on her body.

Repatriation to Ciampino

The four coffins, draped in the Italian tricolour, arrived back in Italy on Monday, 2 November aboard a C-130 that landed at Ciampino airport shortly after noon. President Sergio Mattarella, Premier Giorgia Meloni, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani were on the apron to receive them, together with relatives of the victims. Mattarella paused in silence before each coffin in turn and rested his hand on it. Relatives said their farewells before the hearses left for Rome. The remains were taken to the Celio chapel, where the wake was open to the public until 8 pm, and Procacci's body first went to the Policlinico Tor Vergata for the autopsy.

Funeral in Rome

The solemn funeral took place on Tuesday, 3 November at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs in Rome's Piazza della Repubblica. Monsignor Gian Franco Saba, Military Ordinary for Italy, presided over the ceremony. Mattarella and Meloni attended, as did Crosetto, and the presidents of the Senate and the Chamber, Ignazio La Russa and Lorenzo Fontana, were also expected. An honour guard from the armed forces received the coffins, on which photographs of the four had been placed. In his homily, Saba spoke of the four as sowers of peace.

“We are invited to look at them as sowers of seeds of peace”

Saba also said the four had understood that giving their lives to service was a foretaste of paradise, and that they had put their talents and skills at the disposal of others.

Orvieto mourning and next steps

Orvieto declared two days of city mourning on 3 and 4 November, with flags lowered at the municipal buildings. Marchesi lived in the Umbrian town, where his family still resides. Mayor Roberta Tardani signed the ordinance, which asks residents, schools and associations to observe the mourning with sobriety and asks event organisers to avoid anything out of keeping with it. Marchesi's wake is set for the council chamber from 1 pm on Tuesday, 3 November, and will resume there on Wednesday, 4 November from 8 am to 1 pm. His funeral is scheduled for 3 pm on Wednesday, 4 November at Orvieto Cathedral. Tardani, Deputy Mayor Stefano Spagnoli and council president Stefano Olimpieri represented the town at the Rome ceremony.