OMM Redaksiyası
Nineteen servicemen were swept away by strong currents during military exercises in the Caspian Sea after weather conditions sharply deteriorated in Kazakhstan. Nine of them have died.
The Operative Information Center-OMM reported the incident, citing Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense.
The incident occurred on Sept. 24 off the coast of the Mangystau region while the servicemen were carrying out a training and combat mission.
The ministry said three servicemen had been rescued, one of whom was hospitalized.
Searches are under way for the others.
Forces and equipment from rescue services were immediately dispatched to the scene. The search-and-rescue operation involves the Ministry of Emergency Situations, units of the Naval Forces, aviation and other relevant services.
“According to preliminary information, 19 servicemen were swept away by the current. It has now been established that nine servicemen died. A commission of the Ministry of Defense, led by Defense Minister, Lieutenant General of Aviation Dauren Kosanov, urgently traveled to the scene to determine all the circumstances of the incident and coordinate search-and-rescue operations,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest enclosed inland body of water, and sudden weather changes can create dangerous currents and waves, particularly during operations conducted near the coast.
