Krapović: The accident occurred due to reduced visibility caused by thick smoke

The accident, in which one soldier was killed and another was seriously injured, occurred due to reduced visibility caused by thick smoke.

This was stated today at a press conference by the Minister of Defense, Dragan Krapović.

He announced that the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Montenegro faced a heavy loss today.

"While performing his duty, and in a firefighting operation in the Kuče area, our member, Junior Sergeant Dejan Božović from Danilovgrad, was fatally injured. In the same accident, Sergeant Marko Iković suffered serious physical injuries, but his condition is currently stable, although he is facing a challenge, he is undergoing pelvic surgery, and he has a contusion of his lung," he said.

Krapović pointed out that this accident showed that behind the uniforms are people who are ready to put their lives at the disposal of the state for the safety of all of us.

"I would like to express my deepest condolences to the Božović family and send words of support and solidarity to his colleagues. At the same time, I wish Sergeant Iković a speedy recovery," said Krapović.

"He explained that the accident occurred around 13 p.m., when the water tanker they were driving overturned and slid down a steep slope, next to the road to the village of Kupusci, in Kuči," the minister said.

"According to the information we currently have, dense smoke reduced visibility and ultimately led to this very serious accident," he said.

He pointed out that the soldiers were certified for the jobs they were assigned to.

He added that Božović and Iković were sent to put out a fire in Piperi at 7.30:XNUMX this morning, after which they were returned to the Milovan Šaranović barracks in Danilovgrad, and then sent back to the field - to Kuče.

Junior Sergeant Božović, he explained, was a passenger in the tanker truck driven by Iković.

"I must say that Iković and Božović were not engaged in extinguishing the fire last night. Their engagement began this morning," the minister said.

Krapović pointed out that soldiers spend days and nights in the field, putting out fires.

"The fire season has brought extremely difficult conditions and challenges for us. Our soldiers spend days and nights in the field, side by side with colleagues from civilian services... It has been a continuous struggle since the beginning. The Armed Forces of Montenegro are always the first to respond to the most demanding situations. However, we often forget how risky the military profession is. Even in peacetime conditions, they face dangers every day. The sacrifice of Junior Sergeant Božović reminds us that behind the uniform stand people, our fellow citizens, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters who are ready to put their lives at the disposal of the state for the safety of all of us," said Krapović.

"Junior Sergeant Božović was a member of the 1st Infantry Battalion, married and a father of four children. He had been serving in the Army since 2006, and he performed the duty of a gunner on a 120 mm mortar," said Krapović, adding that the name and work of Junior Sergeant Božović will be permanently inscribed in the history of the Army of Montenegro and in the memory of our country.

"We express our pride to his family, comrades and friends that he was one of us," the minister said.

He also explained that the injured Sergeant Iković was also a member of the 1st Infantry Battalion.

Responding to questions from Vijesti, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Montenegro, Brigadier General Miodrag Vuksanović, said that the deceased Božović and the injured Iković were in the field to help extinguish the fire, at the request of the Directorate for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in accordance with their assessment.

He said that today, 34 members of the military were on standby and, as needed, deployed to locations where needs were expressed.

He said that he had seen for himself that the fire had practically devastated the entire area where they were deployed and that the fire element, which everyone in Montenegro has been fighting for the past few days, was extremely strong.

The Brigadier General pointed out that the wind leads to a situation where the fire cannot be controlled, and that this leads to situations that are extremely difficult to overcome or predict.

"They were up there engaged in extinguishing the fire, not in extracting members of the military. All members of the Armed Forces of Montenegro and the Directorate for Emergency Situations were endangered these days, to a certain degree. The situation since yesterday in the Pipera area, where we were until 2.30 in the morning, is difficult to describe... We defended the houses with all available capacities. Gorki Kokoti the same, the area around Ber in one part, an extremely difficult situation... Firefighting carries with it a risk that is impossible to avoid. We are aware of that," he said.

He said that situations like today's, tragic ones, are what they are trying to avoid in every way.

"And I hope the storm will subside"...

The Armed Forces of Montenegro, as the minister stated, has around 200 members and they are always available to assist civilian institutions, and they also have a number of assault vehicles, backpacks...

"These are the real capacities of the Armed Forces of Montenegro and they will always be made available to colleagues and civilian institutions, through Mission 3, especially when it comes to such disasters, I won't say naturally caused, because they broke out in many places at the same time, which meant that we had to increase our efforts to the maximum," Krapović replied.

He added that their capacities are improving year after year.

"They are limited, but we are immediately making everything we have available to civilian institutions," he said.