Australian soldier killed and five injured in crash during training exercise

An Australian soldier has died and five others have been injured in a crash during a training exercise in the Northern Territory (NT).

Police said a vehicle had rolled over at the Mount Bundey training area, about 130km (80 mi) southeast of Darwin, on Monday afternoon.

Corporal Brendan Hannam, 28, was declared dead at the scene while five others were airlifted to hospital in Darwin.

The area – used by the army for live fire training – is the same location where Jason Challis was killed in 2017 after he was shot in the head during an exercise. The department later pleaded guilty for failing to comply with workplace safety.

Monday’s incident caused the second death of an Australian soldier this year after a paratrooper died after a mid-air collision during training in May.

The Department of Defence confirmed the incident on Tuesday but gave no further details and requested the privacy of the soldiers and families affected be respected.

NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said two injured soldiers had been taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital by helicopter and another three by plane on Monday evening, according to national broadcaster ABC.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family who are obviously devastated by this loss and of course, the support of our entire community is there for all of our service personnel who will be feeling this loss immensely,” she said.