Twelve British soldiers injured after horror crash in Estonia as three Army minibuses involved in six-car pile up

TWELVE British soldiers have been injured in a horror car smash in Estonia.

Eight of the most seriously wounded were airlifted back to Britain where three remain in hospital.

The troops were part of a Nato mission defending the eastern frontier from Russia.

A convoy of three Army minibuses was involved in a six-car pile-up on Friday.

The troops were travelling in blizzard conditions around 20 miles from Russia.

The 12 British soldiers and 5 civilians were raced to local hospitals by ambulance.

The RAF scrambled a C-17 Globemaster medevac jet with an onboard intensive care unit on Sunday.

Medics collected the wounded from Tallinn and flew them to Birmingham Airport.

They were transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine.

The crash took place at a crossroads where two civilian cars had collided.

Local reports said a 37-year-old woman turned across the highway in a Volvo S80 and hit a BMW 530D, driven by a 62-year-old woman.

The Army convoy consisted of three Toyota people carriers whose drivers were unable to stop

A larger Mercedes Sprinter that was travelling in the opposite direction was also involved in the crash.

The troops were serving on Operation Cabrit, the UK's contribution to Nato’s “enhanced forward presence” which is designed to deter Russian aggression.

Around 900 British troops rotate through Estonia where the UK keeps Challenger 2 tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, mobile heavy artillery guns and armoured infantry units.

The soldiers were travelling back from the UK base at Tapa when the accident took place at around 5pm on Friday.

Pictures showed at least five ambulances parked at the back of the RAF jet which had its tail ramp open.

A MOD Spokesperson said: “Several British soldiers deployed on Operation CABRIT in Estonia were injured in a road traffic incident last Friday, 22nd November.

“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.”

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