2 African soldiers die of cold

2004-01-13 23:00

Digne - Two African soldiers attending France's elite Saint-Cyr military college died of exposure overnight during a training exercise in the Alps, the defence ministry in Paris said on Tuesday.

The two men, from Togo and Niger, were on a three-week mountain warfare course near the town of Barcelonnette, in the southern Alps not far from the Italian border. Seven others were found suffering from hypothermia, two seriously.

Michel Luc of the defence ministry said: "Initially, weather conditions were difficult, but not abnormal.

"But, they deteriorated and one of three groups taking part in the exercise bivouacked in a makeshift shelter.

"When checks were made in the night, it was found that two foreign trainees from Africa had died.

Attained rank of sub-lieutenant

"The alert was raised and the emergency services were sent to the scene overland - the weather conditions preventing any other means of access," said Luc.

Based in the Brittany town of Coetquidan, Saint-Cyr is France's equivalent of West Point in the United States and has an annual intake of about 200, of whom between 15 and 20 are normally from abroad, said the defence ministry.

The men were on their final third year and had attained the rank of sub-lieutenant.

The mountain warfare training is a regular feature of the course and no similar accident has been recorded, said the ministry.

The authorities in the Alps issued their highest-level avalanche warning on Tuesday, and a number of ski-slopes have been closed.

- AFP