15 Marines Injured After Amphibious Assault Vehicle Bursts Into Flames

Five of the 15 Marines injured Wednesday when their amphibious assault vehicle caught fire are in critical condition, Corps officials said.

The Marines are from 1st Battalion, 1st Marines and the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, said 1st Lt. Paul Gainey, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Division. They were conducting a combat readiness evaluation as part of a training exercise at Camp Pendleton, California, when the AAV burst into flames at 9:33 a.m. local time.

Eight of the Marines were sent to the Burn Center at University of California San Diego Health, where three are listed in critical condition and five are in serious condition, Gainey said in a news release.

Four other Marines were taken to the University of California Irvine Medical Center, where two of them are listed in critical condition and the other two are being treated for “an unknown medical condition,” he said. (Read more from “15 Marines Injured After Amphibious Assault Vehicle Bursts Into Flames” HERE)

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