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EU mission helicopter crashes in Pristina airport, crew member injured

Tuesday, 12 May 2015 5:54 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 12 May 2015 6:23 PM ]

A helicopter belonging to the EU mission in Kosovo lies on the tarmac after it crashed during a training flight at the Pristina International Airport, injuring one member of the mission, May 12, 2015. © AP

A helicopter with the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, also known as EULEX Kosovo, has crashed at the Pristina International Airport, leaving one crew member injured and causing the airport to temporarily shut down.

Valentina Gara, an airport spokeswoman, said the EU mission chopper crashed during a training flight. The injured person has been taken to hospital for treatment and the airport has been temporarily closed.

Gara added that the airport would reopen to flights later in the day.

Long-term ethnic tensions between Kosovo’s Serb and Albanian populations resulted in it going under UN administration in 1999.

In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia and an EU mission officially took over the policing of the disputed territory from the UN. The first of a 1,900-strong force, known as the European Union Rule of Law Mission, began deployment in the territory in the same year.

The mission took over responsibilities from the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), while the 16,000-strong NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) peace-keeping forces remained in place.

Kosovo has so far received international recognition from 110 countries. Despite Serbia’s refusal to recognize the independence of Kosovo, in April 2013, Kosovo and Serbia signed an accord to normalize relations, and thereby allow both nations to eventually join the EU.

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