Soldier seriously injured in exercise

The soldier's head was caught between a tank's cannon and turret during routine checks.

idf gaza tank 224 88ap (photo credit: AP [file])
idf gaza tank 224 88ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
An IDF armored corps soldier was seriously injured overnight Wednesday in a training accident at the IDF's Shizafon base in the Arava. The army said that from its initial inquiry into the incident it emerged that the soldier was conducting routine lateral movement of the tank's cannon when his head became caught between the cannon and turret. The accident was apparently the result of a technical failure, the army said. Upon receiving word of the incident, a medical team was rushed to the scene and began treating the soldier. He was then evacuated by helicopter to Beersheba's Soroka Medical Center. In two other accidents this month, an IDF soldier was killed when his Hummer jeep overturned near the Gaza Strip, and a reserve soldier was killed while five others were injured, when their APC overturned during training in the Golan Heights.