Bodies of soldiers killed returned

8 March 2007

BRUSSELS – An air force aircraft left the military airport in Melsbroek this morning to retrieve the bodies of the Belgian soldiers killed in an accident in Lebanon on Wednesday. The defence department announced this today. The plane will return to Belgium this evening.

A military team and a federal police team, both of which will investigate the accident in Lebanon, were on board the plane. Staff from the funeral home which will take care of the bodies also went along.

A short ceremony will take place upon the plane’s return tonight at about 8 p.m. The bodies will then be brought to a chapel.

The two soldiers were killed during a reconnaissance task in Kfar Shuba in southern Lebanon when their armoured vehicle went off the road into a ravine.

Two other Belgian soldiers were in the vehicle and were injured. One of them underwent an operation on Wednesday and is reportedly in stable condition.

The other soldier is being monitored by a medical team in the intensive care unit of the hospital in the southern Lebanese town of Sidon. Arrangements have been made to allow the families of these soldiers to visit them there, the defence minister said.

Subject: Belgian news