A routine survival drill in Colombia turned fatal on Tuesday when three soldiers drowned while attempting to navigate the Magdalena River.
The exercise, held in central Colombia, formed part of an anti-guerrilla training programme in which troops were tasked with constructing their own rafts to cross the waterway, according to Army officer Jorge Hernandez speaking to Blu Radio.
Disaster struck when one of the makeshift rafts, carrying 11 soldiers, was caught by a powerful current and pulled beneath a docked ferry. While eight managed to free themselves, three were swept under and drowned before rescue teams could intervene.
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Incidents of this nature are not uncommon within Colombian military drills. Analysts have long pointed to ageing or substandard equipment as a persistent risk factor during such operations.
The drowning tragedy comes amid a string of deadly incidents involving Colombian troops this year. In February, eight soldiers were killed in a road accident in the country’s southwest, and just two months later, another lost his life in a helicopter crash in the north.
Colombia’s armed forces continue to operate in a dangerous landscape shaped by a brutal six-decade conflict, as they confront guerrilla groups, powerful drug cartels, and other armed factions across the nation.