Kurkse tragedy

[1] The Kurkse tragedy is the deadliest accident in the Estonian Defence Forces since the country regained independence in 1991.

[2] 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 through the shallow Kurkse Strait to the Estonian mainland.

[3] 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 in the cool (14°C) water.

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.