The Macedonian President, Mr Boris Trajkovski, has been killed in an airplane crash in a mountainous area of southern Bosnia. There are no reports of survivors. President Trajkovski was leading a Macedonian delegation to a major investment conference in Mostar.
A Macedonian government delegation was in Dublin to submit its application for membership of the European Union but has now cancelled its planned presentation and is to return to Skopje.
The Department of Foreign Affairs told ireland.comthat the Macedonian delegation had confirmed to it that the President had been killed in the crash.
The crash is understood to have happened near Stolac which lies amid mountains east of Croatia's Adriatic port of Dubrovnik. "The president was in the plane with several staff members. We have no word on survivors. A chopper is on its way," a government source said.
Rain, heavy cloud cover and thick fog in the area had prompted Albania's primeminister, Mr Fatos Nano, to cancel his own flight to the conference. Nano sent hiscondolences to the Macedonian government for its "tragic and painful loss."
Macedonia was to formally submit its application for eventual membership of the European Union in Ireland today, but cancelled the presentation and called its delegation back from Dublin.