Defence Minister honours Hejce air disaster victims at Armed Forces Memorial in Háj-Nicovô Memorial Park in Liptovský Mikuláš
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- Date: 19.01.2024
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Top MOD and Armed Forces officials honoured the memory of the 41 SVK military personnel and one civil servant who died 18 years ago in the SVK AF Antonov AN-24 transport aircraft crash, while returning home from the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR). Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko paid tribute to the victims of the Hejce air disaster in a remembrance service at the Slovak Armed Forces Memorial and the Slovak WW2 cemetery in the Háj-Nicovô Memorial Park in Liptovský Mikuláš.
On 19 January 2006, when the tragedy occurred, the Slovak Air Force Antonov AN-24 carrying SVK soldiers from KFOR in Kosovo crashed into Borsó Hill overlooking the Hungarian village of Hejce. The names of the 42 victims along with the names of other members of the Slovak Armed Forces who have died in the line of duty on missions and operations abroad are engraved on the Slovak Armed Forces Memorial.
Family members of the departed soldiers joined MOD and Armed Forces officials and representatives of Hungary, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Ukraine and China in honouring the heroes. In addition to a ceremonial flypast by Slovak Air Force aircraft and a wreath-laying ceremony, Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko delivered touching remembrance speeches.
Háj-Nicovô WWII Cemetery opened to the public in 1961. A total of 1,370 soldiers of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps lie at rest in the cemetery. The Slovak Armed Forces Memorial, a permanent focal point for reflection and remembrance in honour of all those who have lost their lives on missions and operations abroad, was erected at the end of 2018.
On 19 January 2006, when the tragedy occurred, the Slovak Air Force Antonov AN-24 carrying SVK soldiers from KFOR in Kosovo crashed into Borsó Hill overlooking the Hungarian village of Hejce. The names of the 42 victims along with the names of other members of the Slovak Armed Forces who have died in the line of duty on missions and operations abroad are engraved on the Slovak Armed Forces Memorial.
Family members of the departed soldiers joined MOD and Armed Forces officials and representatives of Hungary, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Ukraine and China in honouring the heroes. In addition to a ceremonial flypast by Slovak Air Force aircraft and a wreath-laying ceremony, Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko delivered touching remembrance speeches.
Háj-Nicovô WWII Cemetery opened to the public in 1961. A total of 1,370 soldiers of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps lie at rest in the cemetery. The Slovak Armed Forces Memorial, a permanent focal point for reflection and remembrance in honour of all those who have lost their lives on missions and operations abroad, was erected at the end of 2018.
