Remembering the Hejce Tragedy in Kosovo
Szöveg: Lt. Andor Gyeginszky | 2015. január 31. 6:00On January 19, 2006 a plane crashed into Borsó-Hill near the village of Hejce in Hungary. The An–24 aircraft was carrying Slovak troops on board on their way home to Slovakia from their mission in Kosovo. Forty-two peacekeepers were killed in the disaster. They were recently commemorated by the KFOR troops in Pristina and Sajkovac, the one-time duty station of the Slovak contingent.
The commemoration was attended by KFOR Commander Maj.-Gen. Francesco Paolo Figliuolo; Dr. István Sipos, a representative of the Hungarian embassy, and Henrik Markus, a representative of the state of Slovakia; Lt.-Col. Tamás Balló, Senior National Representative and Lt.-Col. Győző Preininger, the commander of the Hungarian KFOR contingent.
Speaking by the monument in Camp Film City, Pristina, the COMKFOR underlined that the peace of today had required a lot of sacrifice, so we must preserve the dead Slovak soldiers’ memory forever.
Henrik Markus thanked the Hungarians for their help with the rescue effort, and pointed out that since then, the Hungarians have been keeping alive the memory of the soldiers killed in the disaster in a manner worthy of them.
Speaking at the commemorative event, Reformed Military Chaplain Capt. Szilárd Sajtos welcomed those present in Slovak, Hungarian and English, and then prayed with the word of God, asking for consolation to the commemorators and the mourning families.
Photos by the author
