Two injured during German military disaster relief exercise

Two people were injured in an accident during a disaster relief exercise by the German armed forces in the western city of Dusseldorf on Friday.

A dpa journalist reported seeing a tongue of flame and hearing a loud bang. A soldier was hurled from a mocked-up house, used for firefighting training purposes, into a bush. The incident occurred a few metres from the journalists invited to observe the exercise.

Bundeswehr Major Sebastian Linke confirmed the incident. The injured had been treated immediately by emergency services at the scene.

One soldier had been slightly injured. The other had been taken to hospital for further treatment. Both had suffered burns. It was still unclear how the incident occurred. The relatives had been informed.

The injured soldiers ran from the scene shouting "real case, real case" to make it clear that the incident was not part of the exercise.

Around them were role-players pretending to be injured people who were simultaneously calling for help as part of the exercise.

The Bundeswehr was practising the response to an explosion and a fire in a military security area with casualties. The exercise was continued after a delay of about 40 minutes following the accident, albeit in a slimmed-down form.

As part of the large-scale exercise various stations and scenarios were to be practised together with civilian organizations such as the fire service. The exercise will continue until Saturday.