Four British soldiers drown in Afghanistan canal

Four British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan after their vehicle drove off the road into a deep canal at night.

It is understood that all four men were drowned when their 18 ton Ridgback armoured vehicle plunged into the Nar-e-Bughra canal while travelling to an incident at a nearby checkpoint.

Colleagues believed to be travelling in a second vehicle were unable to rescue the men from the deep and fast flowing canal that provides irrigation for much of central Helmand.

The accident happened at 11pm on Wednesday night and it is likely that the driver of the Ridgback was travelling using night vision aids rather than headlights in an area that is under threat of IEDs (improvised explosive devices).

The track next to the canal is unmarked and has no crash barriers. It is also the first time soldiers have been killed in the Ridgback which has proven very resilient against IEDs.

Three of the soldiers were from the 1 Bn Mercian Regiment along with a soldier from the 1 Bn the Yorkshire Regiment who was attached to the Mercians.

The soldiers, part of a Police Advisory Team, were killed in what the Ministry of Defence called a “vehicle incident” near the town of Gereshk.

The deaths bring the total British fatalities for this month to 18, the worst since last August. The most killed in a month came last July when 22 died when the Panther’s Claw operation was underway.

The total number of British dead in Afghanistan now stands at 307 since 2001.

Lt Col James Carr-Smith, the British military spokesman in Helmand,: said: “It is with great sadness I must inform you that four soldiers were killed last night in northern Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand Province. They were part of a team that was travelling to assist in an incident at a nearby check point when they were killed in a vehicle incident. They will be sorely missed and their actions will not be forgotten. We will remember them.”

Next of kin have been informed and have asked for a 24 hour period of grace before further details are released.