Solemn funeral held for 12 martyrs in military drill incident

The event, held at the southern funeral house, was attended by former State Presidents Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, and Deputy Defense Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Vo Minh Luong.

Veterans and local people also gathered to pay their last respects to the fallen soldiers.

A memorial service for 12 soldiers who lost their lives during a military exercise is held at the National Funeral Home in HCMC, Dec. 8, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tuyet

At the event, the organizing board posthumously awarded the martyrs with the State President’s third-class National Defense Order, the Prime Minister’s certificate of national merit, and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee’s brave youth badge.

Following the memorial service, they were laid to rest in military cemeteries in Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Binh Thuan provinces as well as other localities.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the Military Region 7 organized a defense exercise under harsh weather conditions and in complex terrain from Dec. 1-4.

At 8:27 p.m. on Dec. 2, at the National Shooting Range in Zone 3, while transporting explosives to a designated location amidst heavy rain and thunderstorms, a team of soldiers from Battalion 17, Division 5, the Military Region 7, stopped for a break. Suddenly, an explosion occurred, resulting in many casualties. Initial findings revealed that lightning struck an electric detonator, causing it to trigger and detonate the explosives.