Last Updated: 8:05 AM, March 7, 2012
Posted: 8:04 AM, March 7, 2012
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan -- Six British soldiers were "missing, presumed killed" after a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, an incident described by Prime Minister David Cameron as marking a "desperately sad day for our country."
The explosive device was planted on a road in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, on Tuesday about 6:30pm local time.
The force of the blast -- which struck one of two Warrior armored vehicles traveling in a convoy -- triggered a fire and set off ammunition and explosives the troops were carrying on board, The (London) Times reported.
"It was a very significant blast which destroyed the vehicle and resulted in it catching fire," a Ministry of Defence (MoD) source told the newspaper.
"You effectively had a raging inferno. Ammunition was exploding and the vehicle was burning in an unstable fashion for hours. You could not even get close to it," the source added.
The fire and the explosions caused by the initial blast made it impossible for soldiers in the second Warrior vehicle to reach their colleagues.
An operation to recover the first Warrior vehicle was continuing Wednesday, the MoD source said, after the recovery effort was disrupted by a serious sandstorm in the region.
The group included five troops from the 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and one from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
The families of the soldiers have been informed of the incident, the MoD confirmed.
Cameron said the incident was a reminder of the sacrifices made in Afghanistan by foreign troops.
"This is a desperately sad day for our country and desperately sad of course for the families concerned," the prime minister said. "It is a reminder of the huge price that we are paying for the work we are doing in Afghanistan and the sacrifice that our troops have made and continue to make."
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond paid tribute to the soldiers.
"This tragic incident brings home to us the dangers that are faced on a daily basis by the men and women of our Armed Forces deployed in Afghanistan. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the 6 soldiers who are missing, believed killed and also with their colleagues, both in Afghanistan and the UK, whose brave work continues or is about to start," Hammond said in a statement.
The incident is the single biggest loss of life suffered by British troops in a single incident since the 2006 crash of a Royal Air Force Nimrod helicopter in Afghanistan, which killed 14 soldiers.
Britain's Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, said, "I was deeply saddened by the news of this incident and that six soldiers are believed to have lost their lives doing what is a dangerous but important job."
"My thoughts and prayers at this difficult time are with the families of those affected by this tragic event," Richards added.
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