Three combat engineers wounded in mine explosion in East Siberia - Russian Defense Ministry

MOSCOW, April 30 (Itar-Tass) - Three sappers were wounded during combat engineer reconnaissance on an area adjacent to the village of Bolshaya Tura in East Siberia’s Trans-Baikal Territory when a mine exploded at about 13:15 Moscow Time (09:15 GMT), the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov told Itar-Tass that the mine exploded because a civilian truck hit it. Konashenkov said a group of combat engineers was involved in reconnaissance along a high-voltage power transmission line. A truck with electricians from a local organization moved from the road to the field at the time. “Knowing about the danger of the truck exploding, the group of military sappers tried to stop the vehicle. But the truck driver, instead of obeying the head of the sappers group, decided to bypass the servicemen,” he said. “As a result of the truck hitting an unexploded mine, the piece of ammunition got blown up and three servicemen received wounds of different degrees of gravity,” Konashenkov said. Learn more on itar-tass.com