Officer says 'red tape' held up soldiers' rescue

Published on Thursday 9 October 2008 09:59

A SENIOR Army officer told an inquest how his attempts to send a helicopter with a winch to rescue injured soldiers from a minefield in Afghanistan were frustrated by red tape.

Colonel Stuart Tootal, who was the commanding officer of the Parachute Regiment's 3rd Battalion, said there was a delay in sending an American Black Hawk because they were waiting for clearance "at Nato level".

He was forced instead to send a Chinook with no winch, which he said he believed had a "causal link" to another mine exploding and killing a soldier on the ground.

Corporal Mark Wright, 27, from Edinburgh, died after being caught by the blast as the Chinook descended in a bid to rescue his injured colleagues.

It has previously been suggested that the mine was set off by the helicopter's downdraft.

Col Tootal admitted there were no mine maps available for soldiers to use and the maps they had at headquarters did not reflect local knowledge they had of Kajaki.

The inquest continues.