A U.S. military truck accidentally kills two soldiers and injures a dozen more troops in Alaska. The tragedy happened after the military vehicle flipped in the Yukon Training Area.
Alaska: US Military Truck Accident Kills Two Soldiers, Injures Dozen More
According to NBC News' latest report, the truck accident killed two U.S. Army soldiers. This unfortunate incident happened on Monday, Oct. 2.
Officials with the 11th Airborne Division of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson stated that the truck was carrying 17 soldiers when the single-vehicle accident happened.
The US Sun reported that before the accident happened, the tactical vehicle was delivering soldiers, who are based at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, as part of a training session.
Sadly, two of these participating troops died. The North Pole Fire Department, Alaska State Troopers, and Eileson Air Force Base were among the first responding units to arrive at the scene.
Thanks to their efforts, the injured soldiers were able to receive medical treatment until they could be evacuated by ground and air to the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in Fairbanks.
The U.S. Army officials said that the identities of the two deceased soldiers are still being withheld since they are waiting for the victims' families to be notified.
Meanwhile, the health conditions of the 12 injured soldiers are still unclear. As of press time, the U.S. Army Alaska still hasn't found the main reason why the U.S. military truck suddenly flipped by itself.
The U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson John Pennell said that the military vehicle appeared to have flipped while en route to a training exercise.
Reports stated that the truck flipped because the driver lost control, which led to the vehicle being overturned on a dirt road in the Yukon Training Area.
But, the U.S. Army is still continuing its investigation to confirm the real reason behind the accident.
US Army Alaska's Deadly Accident
In May, the U.S. Army Alaska also suffered from another deadly accident, which killed three of the defense division's soldiers.
This time, the incident involved two helicopters, which crashed in the mountains after colliding with each other.
The AH-64 Apache choppers were returning to Fort Wainwright from an aerial gunnery range southeast of Fairbanks before the incident happened.
Victims were later identified to be Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna (28 years old), Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment (32 years old), and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo (39 years).
If you want to learn more about the U.S. Army Alaska's previous helicopter accident, you can click this link.
