The "Italair" Task Force at the Al Tiri municipality in southern Lebanon yesterday commemorated the missing colleagues 20 years ago during a night training flight.
The military and religious ceremony, desired and organized in close collaboration with the blue helmets of the Irish contingent, was attended by the commander of the UNIFIL Mission (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) Irish general Michael Beary, by the commander of the West Sector, general of brigade Francesco Olla, as well as by numerous Lebanese civil and military authorities.
Returned the military honors to the fallen, laid a laurel wreath at the foot of the monument and discovered a commemorative plaque prepared for the twentieth anniversary, the commander of the mission then wanted to express words of profound esteem for the peacekeepers who, by serving the Fatherland in arms and with a very high sense of duty, have given their lives for peace.
It was the evening of 6 1997 August when, near the town of Al Tir, an AB205 helicopter of Italair Italian contingent fell to the ground due to sudden worsening of weather conditions.
In the tragic accident the major Antoninus Sgro ', Captain Giuseppe Parisi, the 1 ° Marshal Massimo Gatti, the pinned of the carabinieri Daniel Forner and the Irish sergeant John Lynch.
Founded in 1979, ITALAIR is the oldest unit of the UNIFIL mission, as well as the only inter-force flight division deployed by Italy in a foreign Operational Theater. The crews of the Army, Navy and Air Force, with the six AB-212 helicopters, are ready to take off in less than 30 minutes to carry out different types of missions throughout the Operations Area and in particular along the Blue Line, the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, in compliance with the UN Security Council's 1701 resolution.
