Helicopter crash in Bosnia: the bodies of the Italian soldiers have arrived in Rome
The coffins were received by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella; the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni; the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani
The bodies of Sergeants Simone Ruggia and Claudio Marchesi and of members of the Red Cross Military Corps, Lieutenant Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Sergeant Laura Procacci, who died last Thursday in the crash of an Italia helicopter in Bosnia during a training flight. The coffins were received by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella; the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni; the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani.
The anguish of relatives and colleagues at the funeral parlour on the Celio
Relatives, colleagues and members of the public are arriving at the funeral parlour set up at the Celio Military Hospital in Rome to pay their respects to the four Italian soldiers who died in the helicopter crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 29 October. The funeral parlour has been opened to the public and will remain open until 8.00 pm. Sergeant Claudio Marchesi’s aunt remembers him this way: “He was too kind, too exuberant – he was simply too much.” A colleague of Simone Ruggia, with whom he worked in Viterbo, says of him: “A wonderful person, a great friend, a great colleague.” They last spoke a week ago, shortly before he left for Bosnia: “We’ll catch up properly later, then I’ll tell you all about it,” Simone had told him, talking about the mission. “He was very enthusiastic,” he adds, recalling that Ruggia had recently got married. The mother of one of the victims’ colleagues says: “My son was on that very same plane to Bosnia a few weeks ago. He works with them in Viterbo; they’re his friends. It felt natural to come here to pay my respects to them.” Ordinary members of the public are also attending the funeral parlour: “I put myself in the shoes of those who lived through those moments of terror,” says one of them, “because I saw that helicopter on television, circling 40 metres above the ground. They are servants of the state; honour to them.”
The funeral will take place on Tuesday 3 November at 9.00 am at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, in Piazza della Repubblica, Rome.
