Twelve British soldiers have reportedly been injured in a traffic pile-up in Estonia.
The soldiers were said to have been in two minibuses transporting NATO troops to their base when the crash happened on the main road between the capital Tallinn and Narva, a city on the border with Russia.
Eight of the most seriously hurt were airlifted back to the UK.Five of these personnel have since been discharged with three still being kept in the military wing of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
The crash was reported to have happened during a blizzard around 20 miles from the Russian border on Friday.
Six vehicles including three Army minibuses were involved in the crash.The Estonian Postimees news site reported that 12 British soldiers were injured as well as five civilians.
Around 900 British troops are in Estonia as part of Operation Cabrit, the UK's contribution to NATO's Forward Land Forces in Estonia and Poland designed to deter attacks from Russia.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the Standard:“Several British soldiers deployed on Operation CABRIT in Estonia were injured in a road traffic incident last Friday.
“Following hospital treatment in Estonia, eight personnel were flown back to the UK on an RAF C-17 for further treatment.
"Five have since been discharged and three are being cared for at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. We wish them all a speedy recovery.”
