Michael Evans, Defence Editor A soldier died in a minefield in Afghanistan because there was no helicopter with a winch to rescue him, the former commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment told an inquest yesterday. Corporal Mark Wright, 27, of 3 Para, was killed in a mine blast on September 6, 2006, after an RAF Chinook arrived without a winch. The downdraft may have set off the explosion. Six others had already been injured by blasts, three of them losing limbs. The long wait for a rescue was highlighted at an inquest in Oxford yesterday during evidence given by Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Tootal, who was Corporal Wright's commanding officer. Colonel Tootal has since resigned his commission and left the Army. Colonel Tootal said that there were not enough helicopters, and resources were “stretched to...
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