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Army loses combat rifle on moor | Army loses combat rifle on moor |
(about 2 hours later) | |
An assault rifle and radio equipment have been lost during an army training exercise on Dartmoor. | An assault rifle and radio equipment have been lost during an army training exercise on Dartmoor. |
The SA80 automatic weapon and secure portable radio system went missing on a 42 Engineer Regiment training weekend, the Ministry of Defence (MoD)said. | |
An MoD spokesman said: "A military police investigation is under way due to a missing rifle and radio." | An MoD spokesman said: "A military police investigation is under way due to a missing rifle and radio." |
He added that he could not confirm reports that the weapon was taken after a soldier fell asleep. | |
"They went missing after a training exercise last weekend on the south side of Dartmoor," he said. | "They went missing after a training exercise last weekend on the south side of Dartmoor," he said. |
The equipment belonging to the Oxfordshire-based regiment went missing in the early hours of Sunday at Homing Beam, a regular military training area near Princetown. | |
200 weapons lost | |
An Army spokesman said the gun was not loaded and investigators were taking the incident very seriously. | |
He said no ammunition was missing and the MoD Police's special investigation branch was leading the inquiry. | |
The spokesman claimed such equipment losses were a rare occurrence, however in 2006 the BBC discovered over 200 weapons had been lost by or stolen from the British military over a nine-year period. | |
The SA80 rifle is one of the British military's standard combat weapons. | The SA80 rifle is one of the British military's standard combat weapons. |
It takes a 30-round magazine and is capable of firing 700 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition per minute. | It takes a 30-round magazine and is capable of firing 700 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition per minute. |
There has been a military presence on Dartmoor for more than 200 years. The MoD has licences for firing on 13,000 hectares of National Park land. | |