A young soldier in the British Army collapsed and died during training after the commanders of the battalion he was stationed in refused to cancel the physical activity in the extreme heat – which reached a record 40.3 degrees Celsius in the country in two days. Before. The case took place on July 21, when the young man, “one of the youngest in the platoon,” according to The Sun newspaper, was forced to attend an exercise under the justification of his superiors that “took place under severe measures.” Temperature and Humidity Guidelines.”
After the incident, the Army refused to disclose in which unit the soldier died and where the training took place. The hero fell ill and died two days later.
According to the country’s agencies, it would be a fatality deemed avoidable, raising “serious concerns” about the “ability of the military to learn from mistakes”. Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of Afghanistan’s army, said the exercise should have been cancelled.
“In a short burst of heat, you can easily postpone training,” Kemp pointed out.
At least four soldiers have died from the heat in the country since 2013, including three crew members who collapsed when the thermometer hit 27°C at Brecon Beacons Park. At the time, an inquiry pointed out that the army had committed “very serious and widespread failures”.
“Despite the weather warning, the regiment carried out physical training,” said a person close to the victim of high temperatures.
A source told The Sun that the case had been referred to Ipswich Crown Court in Suffolk.
“Our thoughts are with the soldier’s family and friends,” a British military spokesman said.
