Taiwanese Patton Tank Plunges Into River, 3 Soldiers Killed

Three Taiwanese soldiers died and one got severely injured after the one of the nation's M48 Patton main battle tank lost balance and fell into a river in while returning to its base.

The driver said, he was trying to take a right turn but the left track got stuck while the right track operated normally and fell into a Wangha river in Pingtung County. The tank was returning to its base after a live training session, local media reported Wednesday.

The four victims had to be pulled out of the tank and were rushed to a hospital, where three were declared dead and one saw his pulse return after emergency treatment. However, a fifth soldier, the driver, managed to get out on his own and suffered only minor injuries.

The training drill came in the light of the annual Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual war games that are scheduled to start from Monday and continue for five days.

The Taiwan variant of the M48 Patton main battle tank was designed in the US.