A BRITISH Army medic has recalled the minutes leading up to the mine blast which claimed the lives of two Royal Marines – one from Ferndown – in Afghanistan last year.

Lt John Thornton, 22, of Ferndown, and Marine David Marsh, 23, of Norton Fitzwarren, near Taunton, both of 40 Commando, were killed in the explosion as they conducted a patrol near Kajaki, in Helmand Province, on March 30 last year.

In a statement read at the inquest at Trowbridge Town Hall today, Corporal Stephen Tee, of the Royal Army Medical Corp, described how he was trapped under boxes of machine gun ammunition when the vehicle in which they were travelling was hit by a roadside bomb.

The statement recalled the soldiers’ final moments before the vehicle was struck by the improvised explosive device.

Cpl Tee was travelling with the Marines, from C-Company, in a Weapon Mounted Installation Kit (WMIK, pronounced “Wimik”), a combat patrol model of the Land Rover, outside Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge, near the Kajaki Dam.

Cpl Tee’s statement, read by Coroner David Masters, said: “I recall the driver, Marine Marsh, saying that he hated the area we were travelling through because it was hidden by peaks. By this he meant it was out of the sight of friendly forces.

“After saying this a large explosion tore through the WMIK. Although it was a large explosion, I did not lose consciousness from the blast, and I was not deafened.”

Cpl Tee said the vehicle was shattered through its middle, and the rear end was lifted into the air by the explosion.

He went on: “I had fallen from the rear end and I was buried under eight to 10 boxes of machine gun ammunition tract. I shouted out: ‘Is everyone all right?’ I then shouted: ‘I’m trapped’.”

Lt Thornton, in command of the Fire Support Group, and Marine Marsh, the driver, were both launched from the car as it turned into an area known as Thornton’s Crescent.

Once freed, Cpl Tee rushed immediately to the soldiers’ aid, administering emergency medical treatment.

A medical emergency response team arrived and transferred Lt Thornton and Marine Marsh to the hospital at Camp Bastion, but they did not survive and were certified dead, the inquest heard.

Both Lt Thornton and Marine Marsh were deployed to southern Afghanistan in September 2007, and were five months in to their tour, with just four weeks left to go.

C-Company were patrolling the area in four vehicles to establish whether new routes were safe.

The inquest was adjourned until 9.30am tomorrow.