Three Russian servicemen were killed and two others were injured when a BTR-80 armored personnel carrier overturned in a gorge in Abkhazia, a Russian-backed breakaway region of Georgia.
The incident occurred on 18 January, when a military convoy following from the mountain range Tsabal to Abkhazia. It is reported that on a difficult section of the road BTR overturned into a gorge.
The injured servicemen have been evacuated by Mi-8 helicopter to the nearest military hospital. Their condition is currently unknown.
“On January 18, when a military convoy was moving from the Tsabal mountain range to the permanent deployment point in Abkhazia, on a difficult section of the road, the BTR-80 overturned into a gorge. As a result of the accident, three servicemen died,” according to the statement by the Southern Military District’s press service.
According to local media, the military district commission is considering several versions of what happened. So, the cause of the accident could be a
technical malfunction and that the driver lost control of the BTR-80 armored personnel carrier.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in wars in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Georgia and Russia fought a short war over the regions in August 2008 and Moscow, whose forces triumphed, recognized both as independent countries.