Parachute troops get stuck in trees during Belgian drill, several injured
Around noon, a group of military parachutists landed in trees near Hechtel-Eksel, Belgium, after strong winds blew them off course, leaving several soldiers injured.
On Thursday at roughly 12:20, a dozen military parachutists participating in an annual joint Belgian-Dutch exercise were blown off their intended drop zone by strong winds and landed amid trees close to Hechtel-Eksel in Limburg. Five of the troops became stuck, and three were seriously hurt, though none are reported to be in life-threatening condition. Local emergency services activated a medical response and police deployed drones to examine the forested area for additional casualties.
The operation, which regularly gathers around 250 parachute specialists, uses aircraft departing from Eindhoven and drops participants over the Belgian training ground. Authorities continue searching for any other injured personnel. Similar incidents have occurred previously, such as a 2023 event where U.S. parachutists were also caught in trees at the same site.
