No image available
/ 17 October 2007

Investigation into military accident under way

A military board of inquiry into an accident in which nine soldiers were killed has begun its work, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Wednesday. Lekota was visiting seven troopers in various Bloemfontein hospitals, who were injured in the anti-aircraft gun accident at the Lohatla training area in the Northern Cape last Friday.

No image available
/ 13 October 2007

Female officer tried to stop deadly cannon

A female artillery officer risked her life at Lohatlha on Friday in a desperate bid to prevent members of her battery being killed by their own anti-aircraft gun. By the time the gun had emptied its twin 250-round auto-loader magazine, eight soldiers were dead. A ninth soldier, a woman, died soon after being airlifted to Bloemfontein.

No image available
/ 12 October 2007

Nine soldiers killed in shooting accident

Nine South African soldiers were killed on Friday in a shooting accident involving an anti-aircraft gun during a training exercise at a base in the central Bloemfontein region, the army said. "I can confirm that nine of our people have died and another 15 were injured and taken to various," a South African National Defence Force spokesperson said.