Royal Marine recruit dies after landing craft exercise
A Royal Marine who was injured in a training incident last week has died.
The Marine was part of a group that had been practising an assault from a landing craft on Tregantle beach, Cornwall.
The young recruit was wearing a full kit when he got into difficulties and went under the water on Tuesday evening.
The Royal Navy said its "thoughts and sympathies" were with the recruit's family and friends.
A Navy spokesperson said: “We can confirm the sad death of the Royal Marine who was injured in an incident earlier this week and we now ask for a period of grace for the family.
“The thoughts and sympathies of the Naval Service go out to the family and friends of the individual.
“The incident is still under investigation, therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
South Western Ambulance Service said that it had been called to the incident on the beach shortly after 22:00 GMT on Tuesday.
"The caller reported to us that a person had gone underwater. We sent land, air and other specialist paramedics to attend the incident," a spokesman said.
"They treated a male patient at the scene and he was conveyed by air ambulance to Derriford Hospital for further care."
The group had been practising an assault from a landing craft on Tregantle beach, near Plymouth, when one of the recruits apparently got into difficulty in the water.
After trying to get the men back in the boat it was noticed one of them was missing. The injured serviceman was later found unconscious in the water.
Attempts were made to resuscitate the man after he was recovered by the landing craft crew.
Some of the other recruits taking part, who were carrying a full kit, backpacks and rifles, also reportedly struggled in the water, which was said to be up to their necks and cold, after exiting the landing craft close to the shore.
They were in the last phase of their 32-week training at the Royal Marines' principal military training centre near Lympstone in Devon.
Up to 147 members of the armed forces have died while training or on exercise in the past 20 years. Of the 25 deaths in the Navy, 16 have been Royal Marines.
Former Royal Marines serviceman Saul Cuttell told the BBC the exercise is a "perfectly normal thing to do and it has a lot of validity to what a marine would have to do".
He said the beach assault simulation is "tough" but "one of the things we [Marines] need to be able to do is replicate war time scenarios and they're not easy scenarios, they're not meant to be."
Mr Cuttell, who left the Marines in 2006, said the force has "made a lot of changes in recent years to ensure the safety of young men and ensure the training is more efficient".
