Two soldiers dead, four injured in accident at training area

The six soldiers were driving a “Mungo” armoured vehicle at the Baumholder training field when they lost control on a steep slope. The five-tonne vehicle rolled, killing two soldiers one aged 19 and the other 23.

The other four soldiers sustained severe injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital, military authorities said.

All six troops were from a Saarland-based unit that had been training at the site.

Rhineland-Palatinate state premier Kurt Beck expressed his condolences to the victims’ families on Monday evening in Mainz.

“It is terrible when young people are suddenly torn from life and away from their families,” he said. “My thoughts are with the relatives of the two who died and with the injured, who I wish a speedy recovery.”

State prosecutors are expected to conduct an investigation into the deadly accident, he added.

DAPD/ka