Australian soldier killed, 5 injured in training exercise crash

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An Australian soldier has died and five others have been injured in a crash during a training exercise in the Northern Territory (NT), authorities said.

Police said a vehicle rolled over at the Mount Bundey training area, about 130 km (80 miles) southeast of Darwin, on Monday afternoon.

One man was declared dead at the scene, while five others were airlifted to hospital in Darwin.

The area, used by the army for live-fire training, was the same location where soldier Jason Challis was killed in 2017 after being shot in the head during an exercise. The defence department later pleaded guilty to failing to comply with workplace safety requirements.

Monday's incident was the second death of an Australian soldier this year after a paratrooper died following a mid-air collision during training in May.

The Department of Defence confirmed the incident on Tuesday but gave no further details and asked that the privacy of the soldiers and their families be respected.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said two injured soldiers were taken by helicopter to Royal Darwin Hospital and another three by plane on Monday evening, national broadcaster ABC reported.

"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," she said.

NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole sent resources to the Mount Bundey training area to assist with the Defence Department's investigation, ABC reported.

"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, according to ABC.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his thoughts were with the victims' families and friends, adding: "There are no safe or easy days for those who serve in our country's name."

During a 2019 inquest into the death of Challis, a 25-year-old soldier from Victoria, the coroner described the training exercise as "shambolic" and said his death had been preventable.

Challis, who had less than a year's experience in the defence force, was shot in the head and knee while standing behind a plywood wall during an urban attack exercise.

In May this year, Lachlan Muddle, a Special Air Service Regiment soldier, died after falling to the ground following a mid-air collision with another paratrooper at Jervis Bay airfield in New South Wales.

Source: SBS News/ABC/BBC