Casualties confirmed by MoD after an incident involving Tank at firing range

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) have confirmed that there has been a number of casualties after an incident with a tank at a military training base in West Wales.

The Welsh Ambulance Service and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service are in attendance at an incident at the Castlemartin firing range, in Pembrokeshire, on Wednesday (14 June).

The ambulance service said it was alerted to the injuries just before 3.30pm with the UK Government's website suggesting live firing was due to take place at the site from Monday to Friday this week.

A spokeswoman for the MoD said it was aware of the incident saying: "My understanding is that there are casualties. As I understand it people have been injured."

It is not known if the injuries were sustained during a live fire exercise and the Daily Mail reported that at least one of the casualties is thought to be a soldier.

The Castlemartin range is now the only UK Army range available for direct-fire live gunnery exercises and is used by Army, Army reserves and cadets.

A police spokesman said: "Dyfed-Powys Police were called to an incident at MOD Royal Armoured Corps range in Castlemartin range at 3.30pm today. This is being investigated and a further update will be provided when appropriate."

During a training exercise at Castlemartin in 2012 one soldier, Ranger Michael Maguire, 21, was shot dead.

An inquest found that Ranger Maguire, of The Royal Irish Regiment, had been unlawfully killed after being shot once in the head.

A large swathe of the Castlemartin peninsula was taken over by the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) tank range in the 1930's although it has been used by civilian organisations.

In August 2016 24-year-old British Army soldier Private Conor McPherson was shot dead during a night-time military training exercise in Northumberland.

Private McPherson, who was serving with The Black Watch as part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, died after being shot in the head while taking part in a live firing exercise.

And in November last year a soldier was killed in a shooting incident at the RAF Tain bombing range near Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands.