8 soldiers injured in capsizing accident

ADIYAMAN - Doğan News Agency

İnjured soldiers are taken to hospitals in Adıyaman for the treatments. AA photo

Eight soldiers were injured in the eastern province of Adıyaman yesterday after the military vehicle in which they were traveling drove off the road and overturned.

The patrol car, belonging to the Çelikhan District Gendarmerie Command, reportedly flipped over on the Adıyaman-Çelikhan highway after the driver lost control.

The eight soldiers, who were reported to be in fair condition, were sent to Çelikhan State Hospital and Adıyaman University Education and Research Hospital.

The accident is the latest in a series of frequently fatal mishaps that has befallen the army so far in 2012.

Some 17 soldiers were killed Nov. 10 when their military helicopter crashed near the southeastern province of Siirt’s Pervari district. Although some initially speculated that militants had shot down the aircraft, the Turkish Armed Forces subsequently released a statement, blaming poor weather for the accident.

On Sept. 5, a huge explosion and subsequent fire at an ammunition depot in the western province of Afyonkarahisar left 25 soldiers dead; military prosecutors later announced that there was no sign of sabotage at the storage site but did arrest a major on charges of negligence related to the incident.

Nine soldiers and a village guard were also killed Aug. 21 when their vehicle overturned in the southeastern province of Şırnak’s Uludere district.