French Navy Marine Suffers Serious Gunshot Wound Aboard Rescue Tug
Last weekend, a French Navy marine suffered a severe, life-threatening injury aboard the rescue ship Abeille Normandie, according to the prosecutor's office for the Boulogne-Sur-Mer area. The victim was hospitalized for treatment in critical condition.
On Saturday afternoon, Marine Nationale riflemen (fusiliers marins) were conducting an exercise aboard the Abeille Normandie at a location near Pas-de-Calais. During the maneuvers, a 23-year-old soldier was shot and wounded in the abdomen, prosecutor Patrick Leleu told AFP. It is believed that one of the victim's fellow marines experienced an accidental discharge of a weapon during maintenance or cleaning, and shot the victim by mistake.
The victim was medevaced to a hospital at Lille later in the day and scheduled for urgent surgery. The intervention was successful, and by Sunday the soldier's condition had improved, local media outlet La Voix du Nord reported.
Leleu said that the incident is being treated as an "unintentional injury" at this time. The maritime police unit in Le Havre and Boulogne-Sur-Mer are leading an investigation into the circumstances of the case.
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Abeille Normandie is an oceangoing rescue tug permanently stationed near the Strait of Dover, and serves the English Channel and North Sea area. She is among the world's most capable rescue vessels, rated for 280 tonnes of bollard pull and berthing for 300 survivors.
Top image: Abeille Normandie (VesselFinder / Blende Acht)