SAS soldier 'had no chance'

GOLD Coast SAS soldier Sean McCarthy had no chance of survival after a 10kg bomb exploded beneath his patrol vehicle in Afghanistan, an inquiry has found. Medics did everything possible to keep alive Signaller McCarthy, 25, and getting him to a medical facility sooner would not have saved his life, the defence inquiry found. The Special Air Service Regiment member arrived at the Tarin Kowt base - where he was declared dead - almost two hours after the attack. A helicopter normally used for medical evacuations was out of action. New Zealand-born Signaller McCarthy was the sixth Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002. Releasing the report, Vice Chief of the Defence Force Lieutenant General David Hurley said the soldier was given prompt and expert first aid by fellow patrol members, one of whom had undergone... [read full story]