Investigations into the incident at the South African Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla in which nine soldiers were killed have revealed that the tragedy was caused by a mechanical failure, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Friday.

The nine soldiers died when a 35mm Oerlikon GDF MK-5 gun malfunctioned at the training centre in the Northern Cape on October 12 last year.

Fifteen other soldiers were injured in the incident.

Speaking to reporters in Pretoria, Lekota said a board of inquiry, which was established two days later and headed by retired Major General Johan Jooste, found that a mechanical failure occurred on gun 124 when the interface between the hand-motor actuator selector level and the traverse gearbox broke.

Read more at: Mail & Guardian Online