Hadassah To The Rescue: IDF Tank Flips over while being loaded
Posted on
Army Tank, Hadassah Hospital, Hadassah Medical Centre, Hadassah Medical Organisation, Healing, IDF, Israel, Jerusalem, Tank, treatment
Hadassah / Hadassah Heroes / Hospital / Jerusalem / News / Nonprofit / Patient Blog / Relief / Uncategorized
The tank began accelerating wildly onto the moving truck before flipping upside down, barely missing a nearby commander.
A soldier who happened to be taking a video of the loading process can be heard in the background being asked whether filming the loading process is a good idea, to which he replied:
“When filming a tank going uphill, you never know … I hope nothing happens.”
However, as the driver begins edging the tank forward on its uphill climb onto the moving truck, the vehicle can be seen accelerating wildly before flipping upside down, almost running over the commander who had been attempting to direct the driver onto the truck.
After the flip, the tanks fire defence system began to kick in as soldiers surrounded the tank, one of which can be heard telling others to call a medical team.
The tank driver, a 24-year-old reserve soldier, was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
According to Dr. Daniel Weiss director of Hadassah’s trauma ward, the driver’s vitals are normal and he suffered only light bruising, but will stay in hospital overnight so they can supervise his condition.
Following the incident, the division commander instructed to completely halt the movement of all armoured combat vehicles in the division until the results of the initial investigation are published.
During the initial investigation, the driver said:
“The gas pedal of the tank had gotten stuck, leading to the tank to accelerate as quickly as it did and eventually flip over.”
Tanks, cannons and armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) are very slow moving compared to cars and trucks, while also using large amounts of gas in the process. Whilst loading them onto trucks can save time and fuel, flips such as these are often fatal, especially in vehicles where the drier’s head is not positions inside the vehicle.
Editor’s note:
The original piece was taken from The Jerusalem Post.
For more from Hadassah Hospital, visit our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
