The remains of Private First Class Danfo Van der Velden, a 22-year-old mortar operator with Belgium’s Brasschaat Artillery Battalion, were repatriated by a Belgian Air Force A400M on Wednesday following his death during a training accident in Lithuania.
Van der Velden sustained fatal injuries on November 28 during a live mortar exercise while serving with NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission. He died the following day at a hospital in Vilnius despite urgent medical intervention. A formal investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the accident.
Belgian Air Force A400M transport aircraft CT-04 flew his body from Kaunas Airport to Melsbroek Military Airport near Brussels as flight BAF640. Before departure, a final tribute was held at a Vilnius funeral home, attended by Lithuania’s president and prime minister, Belgian diplomatic and military representatives, and members of the Belgian artillery detachment deployed in Lithuania. At Kaunas Airport, Belgian and Lithuanian troops formed an honour guard as his coffin was carried aboard the aircraft.
The aircraft landed at Melsbroek Air Force base at 14:00, where Van der Velden’s family, Defence Ministry representatives, the Deputy Chief of Defence, the Royal Air Force Band, and a detachment of the Artillery Battalion received his coffin with full military honours.
Since the accident, Belgian Defence has provided psychological support to Van der Velden’s family and to deployed personnel. As a mark of respect, military units across the country lowered their flags to half-mast on Sunday and observed a minute of silence on Monday morning.
The Belgian Defence Forces said they are “deeply saddened” by the loss of the young soldier, who had been deployed in Lithuania since August as part of NATO’s multinational battlegroup.
