Sergeant killed when tank flips in training exercise

An Israeli soldier was killed when his tank flipped over during a training exercise in the Golan Heights after midnight Thursday morning, the army said.

Sgt. Ido Ben-Ari, 20, and three other soldiers were maneuvering in a Merkava IV tank when it overturned near Mount Shifon in the Golan Heights.

The army said the accident occurred during a “routine exercise,” and the cause of the accident is being investigated.

Ben-Ari was killed in the accident, while the three other soldiers were lightly wounded and taken to a hospital for treatment.

The incident was kept under gag order until the family was notified Thursday morning.

Ben-Ari was from the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Hasharon and, according to his Facebook profile, was an avid surfer.

Following the incident, Maj. Gen. Kobi Barak, head of the IDF Ground Forces, said tank exercises planned for Sunday would be temporarily halted in order to review safety procedures with soldiers in the Armored Corps, an army spokesperson said.

Exercises planned for Thursday and the weekend are expected to continue as normal.

Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, head of the Southern Command, to which the 401st Brigade is subordinate, ordered an investigation into the incident, which will be led by Col. Eran Shani, commander of the reserve Idan Brigade.

In late September, a 20-year-old soldier in the Armored Corps was seriously injured when he was struck in the head by a tank’s turret during an exercise at the Shizafon army base in the Negev desert. The Merkava IV tank’s cannon reportedly recoiled when he climbed out of the vehicle to access its MAG machine gun.