File Photo: Paratroopers from the XVIII Airborne Corps headquarters returned from Afghanistan arrive at Green Ramp at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the United States, Dec. 5, 2014. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
Fifteen soldiers were injured by an explosion during a training accident at a military base in U.S. state of North Carolina, local media reported Thursday.
Officials said the explosion happened in one of the training fields of Fort Bragg, the largest military U.S. Army installation by population with over 50,000 active duty personnel.
Local reports said those injured, all of them members of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), were airlifted by medical helicopter to Womack Medical Center but it's not clear how badly they were hurt.
The incident reportedly occurred when a vehicle rolled over in a remote part of the base.
"We're looking into an incident that occurred today on Fort Bragg," USASOC spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt said Thursday.
"It was an incident at a (training) range," the official said. "It did incur injuries, but the extent of the injuries are yet to be determined."
Officials are investigating the cause of the incident, Bockholt added.
Covering about an area of 161,000 acres, Fort Bragg houses the 82nd Airborne Division and the USASOC that has about 23,000 soldiers spread over several sites.
The incident came only a day after some 15 Marines were injured in a vehicle fire following a training exercise accident at a military base in California.
Eight of them were treated in the burn unit, with five still in critical condition.
"In last 3 years, 4 times as many service members died in training than combat," Senator John McCain of Arizona said in a tweet Wednesday.
