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OTTAWA — The Canadian Forces were searching for answers Tuesday after an Ontario-based soldier was killed during a parachute-training exercise in Bulgaria.
Bombardier Patrick Labrie, a soldier based out of CFB Petawawa, was confirmed by the Defence Department as having died from injuries sustained on Monday evening near the Bulgarian village of Cheshnegirovo.
A six-year veteran of the Forces originally from Buckingham, Que., Labrie had recently returned from a deployment in Latvia and was in Bulgaria with a larger group of Canadians for the U.S.-led exercise known as Swift Response.
He was a member of the 2nd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.
Defence officials said they did not have further details about the cause of Labrie’s death, and that Canadian military police had launched an investigation.
Defence spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said a second Canadian soldier deployed as part of Swift Response was injured, but it was not during the parachute exercise, which involved a low-level jump at night.
The U.S. military also confirmed two American soldiers were injured during the same jump, but that they had parachuted from a separate plane. One was treated and released from hospital, said U.S. Army spokeswoman Beth Clemons, while the second was admitted for further evaluation.
News of Labrie’s death sparked a wave of condolences from Canada’s political and military leadership, including from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer.
“Canadians mourn today with the family and loved ones of the Canadian soldier killed in a training exercise in Bulgaria,” Trudeau said in a Twitter post. “Bombardier Patrick Labrie’s brave service to our country will not be forgotten.”
“Saddened to learn of the death of a Canadian Armed Forces member in Exercise Swift Response in Bulgaria,” Scheer said in his own Twitter message, adding: “To all members of the CAF, thank you for your service to Canada.”
Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canada’s chief of the defence staff, and Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Jean-Marc Lanthier similarly expressed their condolences to Labrie’s family and friends.
Canada has about 100 soldiers participating in Swift Response, which involves troops from 10 different countries training together in different scenarios in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, with a particular focus on airborne exercises.
The Canadian Press
