British soldiers had to be flown home after a “six-car crash” in Estonia left 17 people injured and three soldiers still in hospital.
The accident occurred on the Tallinn-Narva highway, near the border with Russia, on Friday of last week.
Three army minibuses were said to have been involved and 17 people, including the 12 British soldiers, were rushed to hospital.
According local mediaThe accident occurred after a 37-year-old woman driving a Volvo S80 turned left and collided with a BMW 530D driven by a 62-year-old woman.
This was said to have started a “chain reaction” and saw four other vehicles collide.
The minibuses are said to have taken the soldiers to their base in Tapa.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and ambulances took the troops, as well as five other people, to hospital.
The British soldiers had been deployed as part of a special NATO mission designed to deter attacks from Russia.
The accident is believed to have occurred in the middle of a snowstorm just 20 miles from the Russian border.
An MoD spokesperson said: “Several British soldiers deployed on Operation CABRIT in Estonia were injured in a road traffic incident last Friday.
Twelve British soldiers were involved in an accident on the Tallinn-Narva highway, near the border with Russia, on Friday night.
Following hospital treatment in Estonia, eight personnel were flown back to the UK in an RAF C-17 for further treatment.
British armored vehicles prepare to move at the Tapa military camp in Estonia, Thursday, January 19, 2023.
“Following hospital treatment in Estonia, eight personnel were flown back to the UK in an RAF C-17 for further treatment.
Five have since been discharged and three are being treated at the Royal Center for Defense Medicine at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. “We wish everyone a speedy recovery.”
The news comes as approximately 900 British troops have been deployed as part of Operation Carbit alongside Danish, French and Estonian forces.
The UK also has Challenger 2 tanks, multiple rocket launch systems, mobile heavy artillery guns and armored infantry units.
The Ministry of Defense has not revealed the individual injuries or medical details of the personnel involved in the minibus accident.