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Three Colombian soldiers drowned in a river on Tuesday during a survival training exercise, according to authorities. The soldiers were participating in an anti-guerrilla drill in central Colombia that required them to cross the Magdalena River on rafts they had constructed.
An army officer told Blu Radio that a raft carrying 11 soldiers was pulled under a docked ferry by the river’s current. Eight soldiers escaped, but three were trapped and drowned.
Fatalities during military exercises are not uncommon in Colombia, with analysts often citing poorly maintained equipment as a contributing factor. In April, a soldier died in a helicopter crash, and in February, eight soldiers were killed in a traffic accident.
Colombia has been grappling with a six-decade internal conflict involving guerrillas, drug traffickers, and the military.
