Two IDF soldiers injured in Golan Heights training accident
Combat servicemen taken to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa after bulldozer overturns; one in serious condition, one with light injuries
An Israeli soldier was seriously injured and a second was lightly hurt when a military Caterpillar D9 bulldozer overturned during a training exercise on the Golan Heights on Monday morning, the army said.
The two were rushed by helicopter to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
The exercise was stopped and an investigation has been launched into the accident.
“Two IDF soldiers were wounded this morning when a military vehicle overturned during an exercise in the north,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement. “The circumstances of the incident will be investigated.”
The military initially refrained from publicizing the extent of the soldiers’ injuries until their families could be notified.
Following the accident, the head of IDF Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Kobi Barak, appointed a colonel-led team to investigate how bulldozer operators are trained and other related issues, the army said.
In April, Sgt. Eliyahu Drori was killed and three others were injured when a fire ignited inside a tank as the driver tried to prevent it from tipping over into a riverbed on the Egyptian border.
A probe found that part of the tank caught fire after an object lodged in the gun turret’s swiveling mechanism.