Mine blast that killed soldier occurred during training activity
As IDF investigates what triggered mine blast in Golan Heights, soldier's family asks why young recruits are sent to mine fields during training
Former Chief Engineering Officer Brigadier-General Shimon Daniel said Wednesday that Corporal Roee Alfi who was killed in a mine blast on Tuesday was engaged in training and not operational activity at the time of the explosion.
Meanwhile, Alfi's family is wondering why soldiers were sent to perform such a dangerous mission. "Why didn’t they send better trained soldiers instead of choosing someone who enlisted only six months ago," his aunt said.
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The IDF is still investigating the circumstances of the accident but has already established that Alfi did not step on the mine. "It is possible the explosion was caused by a touch during the demarcation activity," Brig.-Gen. Daniel said.
The minefield in Golan Heights; Small photo: Roee Alfi (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
"This wasn't operational activity but routine training for Engineering Corps soldiers. It's been going on for 50 years, countless times a week."
Mourners by Alfi's home in Gan Yavne (Photo: Barel Efraim)
According to Daniel, "Many soldiers were killed in training accidents during their qualification process whether it was in the infantry, armored corps or in shooting ranges. In the past 30 years two Engineering Corps soldiers were killed in mine blasts but it one needs to understand that mines don't go off because they're broken. Something triggers the blast: fires, animals crawling on top of them."
Alfi (rt) with brother, friends
Daniel said that work in mine fields is necessary for the training of Combat Engineering Corps soldiers. "You can't have a pilot training solely on a simulator," he remarked.
Meanwhile, Alfi's grieving family is struggling to come to terms of his tragic death. "We don't understand how they would send a soldier who has been in the army only six months to a mine field. Why do we even need these mines in this digital age," his aunt Tamar Burstein said.
The IDF says that clearing minefields is part of the advanced training process of Combat Engineering Corps soldiers.
Neri Brenner contributed to this report
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