Hanoi. A tragic accident occurred during military training in Vietnam. 6 soldiers died when the armored vehicle sank. The incident took place on Thursday, the official information about which was given by the Defense Ministry on Saturday.
Vietnam's Ministry of National Defense issued a statement on Saturday saying that a BMP-1 armored vehicle (tank) sank during training at the TB1 National Shooting Range in Vietnam's northern Bac Nin city on Thursday. Six soldiers died in this accident. All of them belonged to the 102nd Regiment of the 12th Corps, 308th Division.
The vehicle developed a fault and sank at around 8:25 a.m. in Bien Son commune, Xinhua News Agency quoted the ministry as saying. The soldiers killed were from the 9th Battalion, Company 10, Platoon 5 and Squad 4. Of these, two were in the rank of corporal (Nayak) and four were in the rank of sergeant (Havildar).
Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on Friday expressed grief over their deaths and decided to honor the fallen soldiers. The PM signed an order and announced that the deceased will be given “Fatherland's Recognition” (honor from the motherland) certificates.
This is not the first time that an accident has occurred during military training in Vietnam. In December 2024, there was a sudden explosion during military training at a firing range of the 7th Military Region in Dong Nai. In which 12 Vietnamese soldiers were killed. The accident was caused by the electric detonator of a party carrying gunpowder being activated by lightning during a severe storm. Something similar happened in July 2014. A military plane crashed during a routine military exercise near the capital Hanoi, killing 16 people.