An Australian soldier has died and five others have been injured after a military vehicle rolled over during a training exercise in the Northern Territory.
The crash occurred on Monday afternoon at the Mount Bundey training area, about 130km southeast of Darwin, according to police. One soldier was pronounced dead at the scene, while the five injured personnel were transported to hospitals in Darwin.
The Australian Department of Defence confirmed the incident on Tuesday but did not release further details. The department also asked that the privacy of the affected soldiers and their families be respected.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said two of the injured soldiers were flown by helicopter to Royal Darwin Hospital. Another three were transported by plane on Monday evening.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family who are obviously devastated by this loss and of course, the support of our entire community is there for all of our service personnel who will be feeling this loss immensely,” Finocchiaro said.
The NT Police Commissioner, Martin Dole, said police had deployed resources to Mount Bundey to assist with the Defence Department’s investigation and inquiries being conducted on behalf of the coroner.
“We can’t comment on the cause of the injury to the defence personnel but we are assisting and were helping to investigate on behalf of the coroner,” Dole said.
Previous Accidents
Mount Bundey is used by the Australian Army for live-fire training and has previously been the scene of a fatal military accident. In 2017, soldier Jason Challis was killed during an urban combat exercise at the same training area. This happened after being shot in the head. A 2019 inquest found that the exercise was “shambolic” and that his death could have been prevented.
The Defence Department later pleaded guilty to failing to comply with workplace safety requirements in connection with the incident. Monday’s crash is the second reported death of an Australian soldier during training this year.
In May, Lachlan Muddle, a Special Air Service Regiment soldier, died after falling during a training exercise at Jervis Bay airfield in New South Wales. He had collided with another paratrooper while in mid-air.
The latest incident is now subject to an investigation as authorities work to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash.
