Canadian dies after tumbling into Afghan well
Updated Sun. Jun. 8 2008 9:10 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are mourning the loss of a comrade who died after tumbling down a well during a night-time patrol.
Capt. Jonathan Sutherland Snyder was a member of 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton.
"We are saddened by his death, and we will not forget his commitment to his fellow soldiers and to this mission," Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, Canada's top commander in Afghanistan, told reporters Sunday at Kandahar Airfield.
Globe and Mail reporter Katherine O'Neill told CTV Newsnet from Afghanistan that Snyder was part of a team that trained and mentored the Afghan National Army.
Snyder and his unit were patrolling in Zhari district on foot.
O'Neill described it as a turbulent and volatile area, with lots of grape fields.
Many wells, known locally as karizes, dot the region. They are usually unmarked and tie into underground irrigation ditches.
Snyder fell into one such kariz at about 9 p.m. local time.
"I spoke to his patrol this morning and they related how desperately they worked to extract him from the well as they radioed for help," Thompson said, adding the well may have been up to 20 metres deep.
The army dispatched medical, engineering and search and rescue personnel to the scene. They lifted Snyder out of the well. A helicopter rushed him to the Multi-National Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Snyder was on his second tour of Afghanistan and third overseas mission.
"His recent leadership in the field likely saved both Canadian and Afghan lives," said Thompson.
Since the war in Afghanistan started, 85 Canadian military personnel and one diplomat have died.
Snyder, believed to be in his late twenties, is engaged to be married. He is from Penticton, B.C., O'Neill said.
With files from The Canadian Press
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R.I.P.
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