Enlarge image
A leopard battle tank on the training area in Lower Saxony (archive image)
Photo: Philipp Schulze / dpa
In an accident at the Bergen military training area, two members of the armed forces were killed on Tuesday afternoon.
Now the public prosecutor's office in Verden has started an investigation into the suspicion of negligent homicide.
The prosecution said that the procedure is customary in such a case and would have been initiated even in the event of an accident outside the military training area.
On Tuesday, a battle tank rolled over a military off-road vehicle during an exercise on the premises.
Two members of the armed forces died in the process - the 62-year-old driver of the car and his 31-year-old passenger.
The 34-year-old driver and the 26-year-old commander sat in the tank.
The exact course of events has yet to be determined.
The military training area is in the south of the Lüneburg Heath.
At the firing range, the Bundeswehr mainly trains with "Leopard" tanks, which weigh a good 60 tons.
How the tragic accident came about is now to be determined precisely by the Bundeswehr.
"We are in deep mourning"
The Army Inspector, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, spoke of a tragic incident on Twitter on Tuesday: "Our thoughts and our sympathy go to the bereaved and the troops on the ground." The Ministry of Defense wrote: "We are in deep mourning."
The news about the tragic accident in Bergen also caused concern in Berlin, it burst in the middle of the ongoing handover of the ministry from Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to her successor Christine Lambrecht.
The minister who was still in office immediately decided that a ceremonial farewell to her State Secretary Thomas Silberhorn that was planned for the evening had been canceled.
The designated chairwoman of the Defense Committee was also concerned.
"My thoughts are with the relatives of the two victims of this tragic accident," wrote FDP MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann on Twitter.
mrc / dpa
