An accident in the Bundeswehr has to be investigated: two men die in a collision between an off-road vehicle and a battle tank. This also overshadows the inauguration of the new defense minister.
Verden / Munster – After a tank accident with two dead at the Bergen military training area in Lower Saxony, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating Verden on suspicion of negligent homicide.
The procedure is customary in such a case and would also have been initiated in the event of an accident outside the military training area, the public prosecutor said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a Leopard 2 battle tank ran over a military off-road vehicle during an exercise in the south of the Lüneburg Heath. Both vehicles were in motion, said a Bundeswehr spokesman in Munster at the headquarters of the armored forces school. A 31-year-old officer and his 62-year-old driver, a civilian employee of the Bundeswehr, were killed.
Part of an officers course
The officer was said to have been used as an observer and assessor during the maneuver. He had served as an instructor in the armored forces school. His rank was not mentioned. “The armored troop school is in mourning,” said its commander, Brigadier General Ullrich Spannuth. All soldiers are deeply affected and dismayed.
In the tank there were four soldiers who would receive psychological care after the accident, it said. According to reports, 200 soldiers with 50 military vehicles took part in the exercise. It took place as part of an officer training course for platoon leaders in the tank troops. The course was canceled and the participants returned to their home locations.
The new Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) also remembered the two dead when she took office in Berlin. “My thoughts now go with the relatives who have to cope with this painful loss,” she said.
The inspector of the army, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, spoke on Tuesday of a tragic incident on Twitter: “Our thoughts and our sympathy are with the bereaved and the troops on site.” The Ministry of Defense wrote: “We are in deep mourning.” Dpa
