Macedonian leader dies in plane crash
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Boris Trajkovski, the President of Macedonia, was killed yesterday when the plane in which he was travelling crashed in dense fog and heavy rain in southern Bosnia.
Mr Trajkovski, 47, was en route to an international investment conference in the Bosnian city of Mostar when his plane, with six of his closest aides and two pilots, went down in rugged terrain near the village of Bitonja shortly after 8am. Zeljko Obradovic, the chief of police in Stolac, said the wreckage was located in the early afternoon and there were no survivors.
Speaking from Mostar, Paddy Ashdown, the high representative for Bosnia, said that although the thoughts of the participants were with the family of Mr Trajkovski, the meeting should go ahead as it was "the conference of hope" for the region.
Dragan Covic, the Bosnian President, said: "We lost a dear friend who was supposed to share the joy of this conference."Branko Crvenkovski, the Macedonian Prime Minister, said his country had "suffered a great loss".
Mr Trajkovski, a Methodist preacher and career lawyer, was regarded as an extremely important Western ally in the region. It appears that the crew of Mr Trajkovski's plane were unaware of the poor weather conditions around Mostar. The presidents of Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia had already cancelled flights they were due to take.
Macedonia was due to make a formal application yesterday to join the EU and a ceremony in Dublin to mark the occasion was cancelled.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments