Salisbury Plain troop carrier collision 'injures 11'
- Published
Two people have been flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries, as Duncan Kennedy reports
Eleven military personnel have been injured in a collision between three troop carriers on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire Police have said.
Two officers in the third truck in the convoy suffered "life-changing injuries" to their legs and were flown to Southampton General Hospital.
The driver of the truck and eight other personnel had minor injuries and were taken to hospital in Salisbury.
A police spokesman said most have now been discharged.
The collision happened in a field near Larkhill Camp at 18:30 BST.
Indian and British soldiers were taking part in a training exercise nearby.
The BBC understands the joint exercise was scheduled to last for two weeks and at the time of the collision an operation codenamed Wessex Storm was being carried out by 6 Rifles, which was due to run until 04:00 BST.
It is not known who was involved in the crash.
Robert Fox, the London Evening Standard's defence correspondent, says this incident could raise questions about the quality of training young troops receive
A spokesman for South West Ambulance said a number of "walking wounded" had also been treated at the scene.
Wiltshire Police said: "The [collision] happened on a by-way which cuts through The Plain, hence why we were called.
"It is still regarded as a Wiltshire Police matter as it's on a by-way, although it's off the main road."
At the scene: BBC correspondent Jon Kay
The military vehicles which crashed here have now been cleared from the wide gravel track by army tow trucks.
The only evidence of what happened is shattered glass and tyre marks on the ground, and a thick trail of oil leading down the hill from where the accident happened last night.
It's understood British soldiers had been taking part in an exercise here with Indian military personnel.
A number of army and police investigators have been at the site overnight, and have been seen checking stopping distances on the road.
An Army spokesman said the the incident would be "duly investigated" and it was assisting the emergency services with their response.
Salisbury Plain is owned by the Ministry of Defence and is the largest military training area in the UK.
The Wiltshire Air Ambulance flew one of the casualties to hospital
Earlier on Wednesday Lt Col Charlie Grist told the BBC troops taking part in the day's training exercises had been out on the plain with lasers on their rifles and GPS-tracked vests. He said they were training for fighting in difficult urban terrain.
