A Romanian soldier died on Friday, March 18, after being crushed by a tank during an exercise at the Smârdan training site in Galați county, eastern Romania.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MApN), the accident happened while the 35-year-old soldier was coordinating the manoeuvres to start moving a tank. A SMURD medical team arrived at the scene but couldn’t save the soldier’s life.

“Platoon leader Sebastian Șerban from the 284th Tank Battalion “Cuza Vodă” from Galați died today during training activities involving a tank driving exercise, without fighting shots, in the Smârdan Training Area in Galați county,” MApN said in a press release.

The soldier was 35 years old, had been an employee of the Ministry of National Defense since 2008 and was married.

At the beginning of the month, eight people died after a MiG-21 fighter jet and an IAR 330-Puma helicopter crashed in Romania.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos)