During military exercises off the Kazakh coast of the Caspian Sea, 19 Kazakh servicemen were caught in a water current and swept out to sea. It has been reported that 9 of them died.
Sea-news.az reports citing Sputnik Kazakhstan, that the information was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan.
According to the ministry, the incident occurred on September 24 in the Mangystau region during exercises of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan. While performing a training-combat mission, meteorological conditions sharply deteriorated and wind speed increased. As a result, 19 servicemen were swept into the sea.
Currently, the bodies of 9 servicemen have been found, and 3 servicemen have been rescued. One of them has been hospitalized. Searches for the other servicemen are ongoing.
Forces and equipment from the Naval Forces, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, aviation, and other relevant services have been deployed to the scene.
A commission of the Ministry of Defense, led by the Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan, Lieutenant General of Aviation Dauren Kosanov, has been dispatched to the site to investigate all circumstances of the incident and coordinate search and rescue operations.
The ministry stated that additional information regarding the progress of the search operation and the condition of the servicemen will be released once confirmed.
