ALMATY, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nine Kazakh Naval Forces servicemen were found dead after being swept out to sea during exercises held in Kazakhstan's southwestern Mangystau region on Thursday, the Kazakh Defense Ministry reported.
According to the ministry, a total of 19 people were carried off by waves during the naval drills on the Caspian coast amid sharply deteriorating weather conditions, including intensifying winds.
Three of the people have been rescued, with one of them hospitalized, while the search for the others is still underway, joined by personnel from the Ministry for Emergency Situations, and aviation and other relevant services, the ministry said.
Defense Minister Dauren Kosanov is heading a defense ministry commission dispatched to the scene to coordinate search and rescue operations and investigate the incident, according to the ministry. ■
