Australian soldier killed in NT military exercise
An Australian soldier has died in a training exercise at a military training area in the Northern Territory, the Department of Defence has confirmed.
The male soldier, yet to be named, was killed during the exercise at the Mount Bundey Training Area on Monday, in which five other soldiers were injured.
Next of kin have been notified, according to a statement from the Defence Department. Defence is expected to provide further details of the fatal training exercise at a later time.
NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro gave her condolences to the soldier’s loved ones, and all military personnel rocked by the tragedy.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young man who lost his life in this tragic event,” Finocchiaro said on Tuesday morning. “All of our service personnel will be feeling this loss immensely.”
Two soldiers critically injured in the military exercise were airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital by helicopter at 7.30pm on Monday, two hours before the remaining three injured were taken by plane to hospital.
NT Police have sent officers to the Mount Bundey Training Area, located about 60 kilometres south of Darwin, to assist with the investigation.
Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor called the soldier’s death a “tragic reminder” of the sacrifices made by Australian service personnel, in war or while training.
The Mount Bundey Training Area covers around 10,000 hectares, according to Defence NT, and is commonly used by the Australian Army and its allies for live-fire drills.
The incident comes five months after Warrant Officer Class Two Lachlan Muddle was killed in a high-altitude parachuting descent at Jervis Bay Airfield, south of Sydney. Muddle was instructing a training course when he collided with another paratrooper midair, a few hundred feet above the ground.
Defence Minister Richard Marles launched an investigation of the training incident after Muddle’s death, which sparked the pausing of all Australian Defence Force parachute operations.
Muddle’s death followed a fatal training exercise at a Townsville military base in October last year, and the 2024 death of Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, son of former Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who was killed in a parachute incident at RAAF Base Richmond in Sydney’s north-west.
More to come
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