THREE Scottish soldiers serving in Northern Ireland were last night killed and five others injured in a road accident involving an Army Land Rover and an articulated lorry.
The soldiers from the First Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, which is based at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh, had been on routine patrolling duties when the accident happened. The Army could not confirm reports that they were removing a check-point.
They were thought to be two privates and a corporal in their twenties and thirties.
Three other soldiers, an RUC officer and the lorry driver were injured. They suffered head injuries, which are not thought to be life-threatening. A spokesman at Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry, said they were all in a comfortable condition. Two of the soldiers were transferred to a military hospital in Belfast for security reasons.
The accident happened eight miles from Newry on the main road to Armagh, which is near the border with the Republic of Ireland.
The lorry driver had to be cut free from the wreckage by fire crews after the vehicle landed in a ditch.
A spokesman at Army headquarters in Northern Ireland said: ''This is a tragic loss of life as a result of an accident. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the victims who have died in the crash. Our agencies are informing the next of kin overnight.''
A company of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is currently based at Bessbrook Mill, near Newry, along with the King's Own Scottish Borderers.
The families of those involved are thought to be based in Edinburgh. A spokeswoman for the Army in Scotland said an officer would be designated to support the grieving families.
A RUC spokeswoman said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
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