Moscow, Sept 27. (dpa/GNA) – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has sacked his defence minister and put five officers under arrest, after 14 marines died in a military exercise that went fatally wrong on Thursday.
He appointed Aidos Myrzakhmetov as the new defence minister, media in Astana reported on Sunday.
Commanders at all levels must make the lives and health of their soldiers a priority, Tokayev said.
During the naval exercise on the Caspian Sea, the weather unexpectedly deteriorated, and 17 soldiers were swept out to sea off the coast near Mangistau. Only three could be rescued.
Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia.
The country’s navy has about 3,000 men and more than two dozen patrol boats and minesweepers, according to the Global Firepower Index.
GNA