(Xinhua) -- A Canadian soldier died Saturday in southern Afghanistan after falling into a well, Canada's Department of National Defense said Sunday.
The accident happened at around 9 p.m. local time (1630 GMT), when the soldier was conducting a security patrol in Zhari District in Kandahar Province, the department said in a press release. His fellow soldiers tried in vain to extract him from the well, which was about 20 meters deep. Medical, engineering and search and rescue personnel were rushed to the scene, and lifted him out of the well. He was evacuated by helicopter to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
There are many wells, known locally as karizes, in Zhari District, west of Kandahar. They are usually unmarked and tie into underground irrigation ditches, according to Canadian military officials. |