Kazakh President Dismisses Defense Minister After Drill Deaths

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has dismissed the country's defense minister, Dauren Kosanov, following the deaths of 14 military personnel during exercises in the Caspian Sea. According to the Kazakh defense ministry, 17 naval personnel were swept out to sea during the exercises in the Mangystau region due to a sudden deterioration in weather conditions and strengthening winds. Three personnel were rescued.

A criminal case has been opened into the deaths of the sailors on charges of "negligent performance of duty resulting in grave consequences" and "violation of navigation rules". The Kazakh interior ministry has detained five defense ministry officials in connection with the investigation.

President Tokayev has also ordered the creation of a commission to conduct a comprehensive audit of the defense ministry and investigate the causes and circumstances of the tragedy.

Brief written by urgent.news from Bloomberg, Free Malaysia Today — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.