Search and rescue troops lose their way
Fifteen soldiers of the Swiss army search and rescue college in Geneva lost their way during a routine troop manoeuvre on Monday. After rescue services spent hours looking for the missing men, they eventually reported back for duty on Tuesday morning.
The truck carrying three non-commissioned officers and 12 recruits never turned up on Monday afternoon at their scheduled meeting point at Bulle in canton Fribourg. The commander of the army college sounded the alarm bells and started a search for the absent soldiers all through the night.
Regular soldiers as well as civilian and military police were used in the all-out manhunt in the vicinity near Lausanne, where their truck had last been sighted.
On Tuesday morning, two Alouette search and rescue helicopters were added to the effort.
However, shortly after, the 15 men reported back for duty at their college saying that they had become disorientated and were forced to spend the night in the open.
An investigation into the incident is now underway.
swissinfo with agencies
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