Serbia ambassador to NATO leaps to death from parking garage platform at Brussels airport
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this photo made available by NATO, in this Dec. 14, 2006 file photo, Serbia's Ambassador to NATO Branislav Milinkovic is seen during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. (AP/NATO)
Officials say Serbia's ambassador to NATO committed suicide by leaping from a busy parking garage platform at Brussels Airport.
A Serbian government statement said Wednesday that the envoy, Branislav Milinkovic, 52, died instantly on Tuesday night.
A diplomat who could not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media said Milinkovic suddenly jumped from the 8- to 10-meter-high (26- to 33-foot-high) platform while waiting with the Serbian delegation for foreign ministry officials due to hold talks with NATO officials.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Serbia is not a member of the military alliance, but has a mission in the headquarters complex. Milinkovic, a former journalist, previously served as Serbia's ambassador to Austria.
The death occurred during two days of meetings of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.