Victims of military plane crash remembered

Slovak President Andrej Kiska and Hungarian his Hungarian counterpart Janos Áder on Tuesday paid homage to the 41 Slovak soldiers and one civilian ministry official who were killed in a military aircraft crash in the Hungarian village of Hejce on January 19, 2006. Kiska recollected that the soldiers were on their way back from a successful mission in Kosovo where they'd helped protect peace and security. "We've gathered here to say that we haven't forgotten, and never will. We'll pay our greatest respects if we continue with the mission, strive for a good Slovakia and build a good reputation in Slovakia and abroad", said Kiska. The two presidents, along with the defence ministers, Martin Glváč and István Simicskó, laid wreaths at the site of the accident - the Borso hill - and at a memorial at Hejce, where a ceremony was held. Also present were NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations Patrick Turner, representatives of the Slovak and Hungarian armed forces and other institutions, as well as relatives of victims and locals. Glváč said that January 19, 2006, is the blackest day in the modern history of the Slovak armed forces. "It's incumbent on us to gather here every year and tell their relatives and friends 'thank you'. I think we owe that to them", said the Slovak minister. Martin Farkas, the sole survivor of the crash, also attended the ceremony. "I find it very unfair, because it happened ten years ago, I'm alive, have a family, a beautiful daughter while all others were killed and didn't get the chance to live on ... and I don't know who I should be cross with", said Farkaš, a member of Slovakia's armed forces to this day. The AN-24 military aircraft was carrying 28 soldiers returning from their mission in Kosovo as part of a regular troop rotation, along with seven members of support staff and eight crew members. The crash took place five kilometres from the Slovak border.