French Army Sergeant Dies in Mountain Training Accident

A French army sergeant has died during a high-altitude training exercise in the Hautes-Alpes region. Sergeant Vladislav Pena, 21, from the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment in Saint-Christol d’Albion, was participating in a mountain qualification course when a rock fell and struck him. The incident occurred Tuesday morning during the ascent of Grand Galibier.

Sergeant Pena suffered cardiac arrest following the rockfall. Military doctors and mountain rescue teams immediately attended to him. Despite swift medical intervention, he died in a helicopter en route to the nearest hospital, according to the Ministry of Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs.

This is the second soldier fatality during training in less than a week. A hussar recently died during an exercise in the Pyrénées. Sergeant Pena, originally from Russia, had joined the Foreign Legion on July 10, 2014. He was unmarried and had no children.

General Pierre Schill, Chief of Staff of the Army, expressed condolences to Sergeant Pena's family, friends, and comrades, sharing in their grief over the loss.