At least 22 soldiers were injured in a Wednesday night parachuting exercise in Mississippi when they missed a designated drop zone and landed instead in a group of trees, according to officials.
Of those hurt, 15 were treated at the scene by medics and seven were taken to a local hospital, Army spokesman John Pennell told local WDAM-TV. The injuries weren't life-threatening, he said.
The exercise, part of Operation Arctic Anvil, was taking place at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg and involved soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), normally stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
Camp Shelby commander Col. Bobby Ginn was quoted by WDAM as saying the soldiers parachuted from a C-130 aircraft and that wind blew them away from their intended drop zone.
About 650 soldiers from the Alaska contingent are involved in Operation Arctic Anvil, which is slated to last 10 days, according to a post on the Facebook page of the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne).
Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
