Third soldier from NATO coalition also died.Duty. Honour. Country.
Thank you for standing up to be counted. |
Two Canadian soldiers and another from the NATO coalition in Afghanistan died Monday in a helicopter crash that may have been caused by mechanical failure or human error.
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The Canadians were Master Cpl. Patrice Audet, 38, and Cpl. Martin Joannette, 25. Three other Canadian soldiers, whose names weren't disclosed in keeping with military policy, were injured. Two of them have already returned to work while the third one was in stable condition at the hospital at the Kandahar Airfield.
| Let us wish for quick healing and little pain. |
The home country of the third coalition soldier was not identified. The crash occurred at about 1:50 p.m. local time at an American forward operating base in Zabul province, about 80 kilometres northeast of Kandahar city, and was not related to insurgent activity, the military said. The Zabul base is outside Canada's main sphere of operations, but the crew was apparently on a transport mission.
The crash comes after the deaths of two other Canadian soldiers, one of whom died Friday following the explosion of a roadside bomb and another who succumbed Saturday to wounds sustained last month. "It has been an extremely difficult week here in Kandahar," Canadian commander Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance said early Tuesday. "We all are feeling a great sense of loss."
Cpl. Martin Joannette died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan that was not the result enemy fire, but may have been caused by mechanical failure or human error. Cpl. Martin Joannette died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan that was not the result enemy fire, but may have been caused by mechanical failure or human error.
The latest deaths bring to 124 the number of Canadian soldiers who have died as part of the Afghan mission since 2002. |