7 News Belize

Soldiers Swim to Safety As Their Truck runs Into The River
posted (February 19, 2013)
Tonight five Belize Defense soldiers are lucky to be alive after their L200 BDF pickup ran off the northern highway and into the Belize River. It happened just before 4 this evening. The men were travelling towards Belize City at the time and somehow lost control of their vehicle after attempting to overtake a truck. After the vehicle plunged into the river, all 5 soldiers manage to escape unhurt. 7news was on the scene and spoke to two persons caught in traffic.

Luke Collymore - passerby
"We were coming down this street this way here and we just saw the dust like something happened. We saw a Mennonite guy looking down in the river with a child. When we came the guys just started to come up from the water. They all swim up and everybody was okay. They got hit by a big truck."

Monica Bodden
"They were headed to Belize City?"

Luke Collymore - passerby
"To Belize City, but they overtake a car here but when they came around the lane they saw another vehicle coming really fast, so they decided to pull back, when they did that the big truck hit them in the back - that's the reason why they didn't hit this tree. The truck hit them and that's how they ended up that side."

"The guys were all BDF but they can't speak to the media."

Monica Bodden
"You just saw them coming out one at a time?"

Luke Collymore - passerby
"One at a time they came out and get their things together, everybody still shaken up and thing."

Monica Bodden
"No one was injured?"

Luke Collymore - passerby
"No one was injured."

Michael Hutchinson - passerby
"I look ahead of me and saw a container truck parked but when I look across the river here I saw some men coming out the river. I thought they were practicing for La Ruta Maya, but then I saw the guys in uniform, so I thought that this is more than that, maybe someone was drowning. I came and inquire and they saw that they avoid a head on collision; they were overtaking a container truck. When they realized another vehicle was coming the swerve in front of the container truck and the container truck clip the rear and so it spun them round and they took straight to the river. Thank God the 5 of them manage to swim out. I guess the basic training that they got prompted them to plunge into that safety mode and they all came out alive. The truck is still submerged in the water at this time."

Monica Bodden
"The container truck didn't stop?"

Michael Hutchinson - passerby
"The container truck did stop and the police took the details. It was carrying refrigerated goods and the guy had to take it to the customs, so he left."

The soldiers were unharmed.

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