BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Twelve British soldiers have been injured after a major traffic accident on the Tallinn-Narva highway in Estonia involving two minibuses transporting NATO troops to their base.
Eight of the most critically injured were airlifted back to the UK, with three still in hospital receiving treatment.
The soldiers were part of a NATO mission tasked with defending the eastern frontier against potential Russian aggression.
The crash occurred on Friday and involved a six-vehicle collision, including a convoy of three Army minibuses, in blizzard conditions around 20 miles from the Russian border.
All 12 British soldiers, along with five civilians, were rushed to local hospitals by ambulance.
On Sunday, the RAF deployed a C-17 Globemaster medevac jet, equipped with an onboard intensive care unit, to evacuate the injured.
Medics transported the soldiers from Tallinn to Birmingham Airport, from where they were transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it provided “the safe transfer of several patients to hospital from a flight which arrived at Birmingham Airport last night as part of a pre-planned operation.”
The collision happened at a crossroads after a Volvo S80, driven by a 37-year-old woman, reportedly turned across the highway and struck a BMW 530D, driven by a 62-year-old woman.
The Army convoy of three Toyota minibuses was unable to stop, and a larger Mercedes Sprinter travelling in the opposite direction was also caught up in the crash.
The soldiers were serving on Operation Cabrit, the UK’s contribution to NATO’s “enhanced forward presence,” which aims to deter Russian aggression in the region.
Approximately 900 British troops rotate through Estonia as part of this mission, supported by Challenger 2 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, heavy artillery, and armoured infantry units.
The soldiers had been travelling back from the UK base in Tapa when the accident occurred at around 5pm on Friday.
