The annual Han Kuang exercises are to be held as scheduled next month, defense officials said yesterday after a paratrooper was critically injured during a rehearsal for the exercises at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung.
“The upcoming Han Kuang exercises will go ahead as planned and will not be affected by the accident, which was an isolated case,” Chief of the General Staff Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) said.
Paratrooper Chin Liang-feng (秦良丰) from the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command was injured when his parachute failed to fully open after he jumped from a C-130 plane flying at about 396m, Deputy Minister of National Defense Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴) said.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
Rushed to a local hospital, Chin was in critical condition, Shen said, adding that Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) has directed Lee to lead a team to investigate the incident.
A hospital spokesman said Chin was comatose, adding that the severity of his coma was at level 7 to 8 on the 3 to 15-point Glasgow Coma Scale, with 3 being the worst condition and 15 being normal.
While accompanying Chin’s parents to the hospital, Lee told reporters that the ministry would do its utmost to support the 26-year-old, who had planned to leave the army next year, and wished him a speedy recovery.
The ministry said it has notified all military branches to adopt enhanced safety measures and improve training to ensure that drills are conducted in a safe manner and to prevent a similar incident.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had been briefed on the accident and had directed government agencies to give full assistance to Chin, Lee said.
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