(DailyVantage.com) – Two US Army personnel were killed and another 12 were injured on Monday after a military transport flipped over on the way to a training area in Alaska, the Associated Press reported.
The soldiers were on their way to the Yukon Training Area about 30 miles southeast of Fairbanks when the single-vehicle accident occurred, according to a statement from the 11th Airborne Division.
Army spokesman John Pennell said on Tuesday that the driver of the large transport vehicle lost control on a dirt road, causing the vehicle to flip with 17 soldiers inside.
First responders rescued the soldiers from the vehicle and treated them at the scene. Twelve were taken by ambulances and then transported by air to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. Two with more serious injuries were then flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, according to John Pannell.
Describing the 11th Airborne Division as a “real tight-knit group,” Pennell told the Associated Press that the entire division grieved the loss of the two soldiers and has prepared to provide the support necessary for the deceased’s families while helping to support the hospitalized soldiers as they deal with their injuries.
The US Army will be investigating the accident.
Pennell told the Associated Press that since the accident involved two deaths, a team from the Combat Readiness Center in Alabama will also be coming to Alaska to investigate.
ABC News confirmed on Thursday that the two soldiers killed in Monday’s accident have been identified as Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden, 22, of Londedell, Missouri, and Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans, 23, of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Monday’s accident is the second deadly incident this year involving soldiers stationed in Alaska.
In April, three soldiers died following a training mission when two military helicopters collided on their way to Fort Wainwright.
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