Crash of Canadian armoured vehicle kills one, injures seven in Kandahar
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at 9:19 on March 2, 2006, EST.
Canadian soldiers in a LAV III (Light Armoured Vehicle) drive past the ruins of the King's Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this file photo. This is the same type of vehicle that was involved in Thursday's crash. (CPimages/ho-Department of National Defence-Sgt. Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - A Canadian armoured vehicle went off the road Thursday while on patrol in the Kandahar area of southern Afghanistan, killing one soldier and injuring seven, military officials said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, but officials indicated terrorist activity was not suspected.
An investigation was launched but the casualties were "believed to be the result of a vehicle accident," said John Morris, a spokesman for the Department of National Defence in Ottawa.
There had been no confirmation of reports that another vehicle was involved, Lt.-Col. Robert Lennox told reporters at the main Canadian base in Kandahar.
The identities of the dead and wounded have not yet been released.
Four of the injured were airlifted by a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter from the site of the accident, while the others were taken in an ambulance. All were transported to Kandahar Airfield, the large U.S.-run military base where most of Canada's 2,200 troops in southern Afghanistan are based.
One of the airlifted soldiers died, said Morris.
Two of the injured were in critical condition while the others were in stable condition, said Lieut. Mark MacIntyre in Kandahar.
Among the injured are six Canadian soldiers and a civilian interpreter identified as an Afghan by Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, who spoke in a television interview. "The care for those wounded, of course, is first in our mind right now," Hillier said.
Lennox, head of the Canadian medical facility in Kandahar, said the two most seriously injured victims will need to be flown to Landstuhl, Germany, where a sophisticated hospital operated by the U.S. military treats injured soldiers from Afghanistan.
He said the vehicle that crashed was on "a standard patrol out of Kandahar."
The crash appears similar to one last November in which a Canadian soldier was killed and four were injured. They were also travelling in an armoured vehicle that ran off a road near Kandahar.
The soldier killed Thursday is the 10th Canadian to die in Afghanistan since 2002.
Four soldiers were killed by friendly fire, two by anti-tank mines, one at the hands of a suicide bomber, one in another road accident, and a senior Canadian diplomat was killed in January in a suicide bomb attack.
The 2,200 Canadian troops in southern Afghanistan are led by Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, who took command of a multinational brigade in the Kandahar region earlier this week.
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Ten Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002:
-Four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in a friendly-fire incident near Kandahar on April 18, 2002. A U.S. F-16 fighter jet mistakenly bombed the Canadians, who were on an training exercise.
-On Jan. 27, 2004, one Canadian soldier was killed in a suicide bombing while on patrol near Kabul. Three others were wounded.
-Two soldiers were killed and three were injured in a roadside bombing southwest of Kabul on Oct. 2, 2003.
-One soldier was killed and four were injured when the armoured vehicle they were travelling in rolled over on Nov. 24, 2005, near Kandahar.
-A Canadian diplomat was killed and three Canadian soldiers were injured in a suicide bombing near Kandahar on Jan. 15, 2006.
-A Canadian soldier was killed and seven others were injured when their armoured vehicle ran off a road in the Kandahar area.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/WorldNewsArticle.htm?src=w030239A.xml
God damn vehicles. If it wasn't for accidents we would be at eight now. If I go to Afghanistan, because we are going to be there for the next ten years at least, I am not trusting the vehicles especially these ones.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at 9:19 on March 2, 2006, EST.
Canadian soldiers in a LAV III (Light Armoured Vehicle) drive past the ruins of the King's Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this file photo. This is the same type of vehicle that was involved in Thursday's crash. (CPimages/ho-Department of National Defence-Sgt. Frank Hudec, Canadian Forces Combat Camera)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - A Canadian armoured vehicle went off the road Thursday while on patrol in the Kandahar area of southern Afghanistan, killing one soldier and injuring seven, military officials said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident, but officials indicated terrorist activity was not suspected.
An investigation was launched but the casualties were "believed to be the result of a vehicle accident," said John Morris, a spokesman for the Department of National Defence in Ottawa.
There had been no confirmation of reports that another vehicle was involved, Lt.-Col. Robert Lennox told reporters at the main Canadian base in Kandahar.
The identities of the dead and wounded have not yet been released.
Four of the injured were airlifted by a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter from the site of the accident, while the others were taken in an ambulance. All were transported to Kandahar Airfield, the large U.S.-run military base where most of Canada's 2,200 troops in southern Afghanistan are based.
One of the airlifted soldiers died, said Morris.
Two of the injured were in critical condition while the others were in stable condition, said Lieut. Mark MacIntyre in Kandahar.
Among the injured are six Canadian soldiers and a civilian interpreter identified as an Afghan by Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, who spoke in a television interview. "The care for those wounded, of course, is first in our mind right now," Hillier said.
Lennox, head of the Canadian medical facility in Kandahar, said the two most seriously injured victims will need to be flown to Landstuhl, Germany, where a sophisticated hospital operated by the U.S. military treats injured soldiers from Afghanistan.
He said the vehicle that crashed was on "a standard patrol out of Kandahar."
The crash appears similar to one last November in which a Canadian soldier was killed and four were injured. They were also travelling in an armoured vehicle that ran off a road near Kandahar.
The soldier killed Thursday is the 10th Canadian to die in Afghanistan since 2002.
Four soldiers were killed by friendly fire, two by anti-tank mines, one at the hands of a suicide bomber, one in another road accident, and a senior Canadian diplomat was killed in January in a suicide bomb attack.
The 2,200 Canadian troops in southern Afghanistan are led by Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, who took command of a multinational brigade in the Kandahar region earlier this week.
-
Ten Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002:
-Four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight were wounded in a friendly-fire incident near Kandahar on April 18, 2002. A U.S. F-16 fighter jet mistakenly bombed the Canadians, who were on an training exercise.
-On Jan. 27, 2004, one Canadian soldier was killed in a suicide bombing while on patrol near Kabul. Three others were wounded.
-Two soldiers were killed and three were injured in a roadside bombing southwest of Kabul on Oct. 2, 2003.
-One soldier was killed and four were injured when the armoured vehicle they were travelling in rolled over on Nov. 24, 2005, near Kandahar.
-A Canadian diplomat was killed and three Canadian soldiers were injured in a suicide bombing near Kandahar on Jan. 15, 2006.
-A Canadian soldier was killed and seven others were injured when their armoured vehicle ran off a road in the Kandahar area.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/WorldNewsArticle.htm?src=w030239A.xml
God damn vehicles. If it wasn't for accidents we would be at eight now. If I go to Afghanistan, because we are going to be there for the next ten years at least, I am not trusting the vehicles especially these ones.
