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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Three soldiers died and nine were injured when their truck plunged into a ravine, Romania's defense ministry said Friday.
The accident occurred late Thursday when a truck carrying 13 soldiers traveling in a military convoy of four vehicles overturned near the village of Valea Urdii, some 190 kilometers (119 miles) northwest of Bucharest. Interior Minister Camen Dan said the driver reported that his brakes failed.
The truck was traveling from the shooting range of Cincu in central Romania where thousands of NATO troops have staged exercises this year to the town of Campulung.
The defense ministry said two of the dead were experienced soldiers and had served in Afghanistan. One soldier was unharmed.
The injured soldiers were hospitalized in Bucharest and the cities of Brasov and Pitesti and are in a stable condition. The soldiers were from the 30th Battalion of Mountain Hunters.
Commemoration ceremonies were held Friday morning at military bases around Romania. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis sent his condolences.
Military prosecutors are investigating.
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