Military tank ends up on its roof after accident on Salisbury Plain
Whoops! Tank commander has some explaining to do after armoured vehicle flips on its roof in an accident on Salisbury Plain
- Questions asked after military tank turned over on mock battlefield in Salisbury
- Tank commander and driver had to explain how the tank ended up upside down
- Despite fears there was blood at the scene, fire services confirmed it was not
- Crews who attended said no one was injured and they weren’t required to assist
Army top brass demanded answers as to why a military tank turned over on the Salisbury Plain mock battlefield this week.
The tank commander and his driver had to explain how the armoured vehicle ended upside down with the turret on the ground on Thursday.
Fire crews raced to the scene, fearing the crew was trapped and a photograph appeared to show blood on white blankets where those inside scrambled from under the tank.
But reports have claimed no one was badly injured and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it was not blood.
Fuel spilled from the tank when it toppled upside down and it is not clear whether the tank will be a write-off.
A military tank commander and his driver have been asked to explain how the armoured vehicle they were in ended upside down with the turret on the ground on Thursday (pictured)
Photographs from the scene appeared to show blood on some white sheets (pictured) but fire crews later confirmed it was not blood
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said ‘A crew from Amesbury was called to Bulford camp to see whether we could assist with a fuel spillage from a military vehicle.
‘Following inspection, no action was required by us.’
The Army controls thousands of acres of Salisbury Plain and regularly stages mock battles in the area.
In April 2014, two soldiers were crushed to death when their tank overturned during a training exercise on the plain.
The Challenger 2 tank toppled from a 6ft high (1.8 metre) bank and flipped on to its roof on a gravel track.
The soldiers both had their heads out of the turret and were crushed beneath the 62-ton vehicle.
Fire crews rushed to the scene on Thursday as it was feared people inside the tank may be trapped or hurt but it was later confirmed there were no injuries
Fuel spilled from the tank when it toppled upside down and it is not clear whether the tank will be a write-off (pictured)
Two other soldiers were treated for minor injuries and later returned to their units.
All four servicemen were from the A Squadron, 1st Royal Tank Regiment, based at Warminster.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said at the time that the soldiers were preparing for a training exercise in Canada.
‘The two soldiers were not going to Canada themselves but were acting as supervisors during a training exercise to prepare other troops for the trip.’
In July 2001 two soldiers died and two were injured on Salisbury Plain when a Challenger 2 battle tank toppled over into a steep cutting near the village of Imber.
And in 1997 a soldier was crushed to death as he repaired the main gun on a Chieftain battle tank while on exercises on Salisbury Plain.
The Challenger 2 tank was introduced to the British Army in 1998 as a replacement for the less sophisticated Challenger 1 and saw action in the Bosnia and Kosovo.
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