The soldier died on Tuesday at the barracks in Lithuania.
With full military honours, the body of the deceased member of the Croatian Army who died on Tuesday in Lithuania was received yesterday afternoon at the Pleso military base in Zagreb, where he was transported by a Lithuanian transport aircraft, reports Večernji List on December 14, 2017.
In addition to family members, the deceased soldier, who was with the Croatian contingent which is in Lithuania as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, was honoured by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Damir Krstičević, Chief of General Staff Mirko Šundov, commander of 1st Mechanized Battalion Major Mario Mlinarić and an honorary military unit. Military Chaplain Marko Medo held a liturgical service for the deceased soldier.
Earlier, Defence Minister Krstičević and General Šundov sent a request to the Lithuanian Defense Minister and Chief of Staff for the transportation of the remains of the Croatian soldier, which the Lithuanian side immediately accepted. Krstičević and Šundov expressed their gratitude to the Lithuanian armed forces for their help in transporting the deceased soldier’s body from Lithuania to Croatia.
Upon the order of the county state attorney, the remains of the deceased soldier will be subjected to an autopsy at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Zagreb.
The soldier in question is 41-year-old Mario Pavišić, a driver in the 1st Battalion. He participated in the Homeland War and was an active member of the Croatian Armed Forces since 1996. He died on Tuesday afternoon, at the Rukla military barracks in Lithuania.
“At the moment, I can just confirm that Mario died in Lithuania and I would first like to take the opportunity and express sincere condolences to his wife, son, daughter, parents and his brother,” said General Šundov to journalists earlier in the day. He stated that the Croatian Army had taken all the necessary precautions and that all soldiers had undergone medical examinations and fulfilled all other criteria required to be sent to the mission in Lithuania.
Asked about what happened, Šundov replied that the death likely had a natural cause. “We will conduct an autopsy in accordance with all the protocols and procedures so that we will know more about the cause of death,” he noted.
Defence Minister Krstičević said that “death of a Croatian soldier is never easy.”
According to information, Pavišić, after having fallen ill at the barracks, was given emergency medical assistance by a German medical team, which is housed with the Croatian soldiers in Lithuania.
The first Croatian contingent was sent to the Republic of Lithuania in November, where it participates in the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence mission under the leadership of Germany.
Translated from Večernji List.
