Kurkse tragedy ( et, Kurkse tragöödia) occurred on 11 September 1997, when 14

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n soldiers of the Baltic Battalion drowned in the Kurkse Strait during a dangerous training maneuver.Alt URL
/ref> The Kurkse tragedy is the deadliest accident in the

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Esto ...

since the country regained independence in 1991.

Accident

As the last part of an exercise which had lasted several days, a team of 22 soldiers from the reconnaissance unit of the Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion attempted to wade about 3 km (2 mi) from the

Pakri Islands , image_name = , image_caption = , image_size = , map_image = Pakri location map.svg , map_caption = , native_name = Pakri saared , native_name_link = , sobriquet = , location = Baltic Sea , ...

through the shallow Kurkse Strait to the Estonian mainland. Although in the beginning of the exercise the conditions seemed satisfactory, later during the crossing, when the unit came out of the lee of the island, high winds and waves appeared and several men started to suffer from

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...

in the cool (14°C) water. Also, it was expected that most of the strait could be waded through and it would be needed to swim for only several hundred meters, but instead the men had to start swimming relatively early and couldn't ever touch seabed before they were rescued. The eight surviving soldiers were rescued by the master of the nearby

Kurkse Kurkse is a village in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from ...

harbour. The commander of the unit, Jaanus Karm, was later found guilty of negligence for leading his troops into such dangerous circumstances. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, but was pardoned by the president

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian politician, writer, and film director. He served as the second president of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was among the leaders of the movement to restore Estonian independ ...

. In September 1998, a memorial stone was erected in the port of Kurkse in memory of those who died in the accident. In 2008, the Kurkse tragedy was the subject of the Estonian documentary film ''Surmaretk''.

References

{{Reflist Military history of Estonia 1997 in Estonia 1997 in military history Non-combat military accidents Accidental deaths in Estonia Harju County

Accident

See also

References