Two tanks collided during an exercise by ground forces on Friday in Pohjankangas near Niinisalo in the southwestern part of the country, injuring several people, the defense forces have said in a statement.
The accident occurred when an infantry combat vehicle BMP-2M collided with an artillery observation vehicle BMP-1TJJ when two tanks were moving in parallel lines in the same direction.
The crew of both vehicles received minor bruises and one crew member was sent to the hospital for further examination on the recommendation of medical staff.
"Collisions between tanks are really rare," lieutenant colonel Riku Rantakari told the army brigade about Yle.
"At the time of the accident, there were a total of about 15 people in the vehicles. One of them was taken to hospital because the possibility of fractures was ruled out," Rantakari said.
The two tanks suffered minor damage in the collision but are still in operation.
Rantakari said the cause of the collision was being investigated.
"The training area was very dry and it is possible that visibility deteriorated rapidly to zero due to sand dust in the air," he said, adding that a briefing was held for those involved in the collision as soon as the exercise ended.
"This is also an occupational safety issue, so we will go through what happened and how to act to prevent this from happening again," he said.
Source: The Nordic Page