AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2000
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Defence Minister John Moore says the safety of the Steyr rifles used by Australian troops
will be part of the inquiry into Corporal Jones's death.
Outcue: ...with the Steyr. Length: 14 sec
Timor Aust Inquiry (Canberra)
An army investigation is to be launched to determine how a soldier in East Timor was
shot dead when a vehicle hit a bump.
Colonel GREG BAKER says it's believed the jolt dislodged what is thought to be a Steyr
rifle which fired accidentally, fatally wounding Corporal STUART JONES.
Colonel BAKER, commander of the Australian contingent in East Timor, says Corporal
JONES was commander of a six-member patrol heading home in one of the army's eight-wheeled
light armoured vehicles, known as an ASLAV.
The soldier died aboard a Black Hawk helicopter rushing him to the United Nations hospital
in Dili.
Colonel BAKER says the Steyr has a safety mechanism which should have prevented something
like this occurring.
It's not known if the safety mechanism was engaged at the time.
Defence Minister JOHN MOORE has confirmed a board of inquiry had been convened to investigate
the circumstances of the tragedy.
The Austrian-designed Steyr rifle, introduced to Australian service in the early 1990s,
has attracted controversy for the number of accidental discharges.
Defence maintains the Steyr is not at fault and that unauthorised discharges stem from
failure to follow proper safety procedures.
Corporal JONES is the second Australian soldier to die from the accidental discharge
of a weapon while on peacekeeping duties.
Lance Corporal SHANNON MCALINEY died in Somalia on April 2, 1993 when a Steyr rifle
held by a colleague accidentally fired as they set out on patrol.
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KEYWORD: TIMOR AUST INQUIRY AUDIO
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