A soldier severely injured after he was pinned underneath the gun barrel of a CM-11 tank while performing maintenance inside the tank’s turret Thursday has died.
Twenty-four-year-old conscript Chuan Jo-yao (???), who had been on life support at Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital following the accident, passed away at his family’s home in Nantou County Thursday night, the Army said.
Another soldier injured in the accident in Pingtung County, a sergeant surnamed Chiang (?), remained in a stable condition in hospital, the Army added.
Army Commander Hsu Yen-pu (???) has ordered a comprehensive investigation and overall review to determine if human error was to blame for the deadly accident, adding that the individuals responsible will be disciplined accordingly, the Army said in a statement issued Friday.
The Army said Thursday that it still did not know what had caused the tank’s gun barrel to move, and that a special team has been organized by the Ministry of National Defense and Army Command Headquarters to investigate along with the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office.
More details about the case will be available in due course pending the results of a preliminary investigation, the Army said.
Both Chuan and Chiang belonged to the eighth Army Corps Command’s Kaohsiung-based 564th Army Brigade, which had been in Pingtung ahead of a military exercise.
On Thursday, a brigade spokesperson said that an “abnormality in the turret stabilization system” was the suspected cause of the accident, but there was no further clarification as to whether the tank was manned at the time or how the gun barrel had moved on its own.
Nantou’s Xinyi Township Office chief Chuan Chih-chien (???) said Chuan Jo-yao was conscripted into the Army in April, and was due to be discharged from service in August.
The township chief added that he knew the family well and that the deceased was their only son.
Also on Thursday, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (???) said President Tsai Ing-wen (???) was saddened by the loss of a soldier and had asked the military to do whatever it can to assist his family in dealing with the aftermath.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel