Nine Kazakh Military Personnel Killed During Caspian Sea Exercises

Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry announced that at least nine military personnel were killed on Thursday during naval exercises in the Caspian Sea because of “severe weather conditions and strong winds.”

“According to preliminary reports, waves swept 19 military personnel out to sea, nine of whom died,” the ministry said.

Three people were rescued, while search operations remain underway, it added.

“A criminal investigation has been opened into the deaths of military personnel during exercises at the military base in Aktau, the capital of the Mangystau Region in southwestern Kazakhstan,” the Kazakh Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.

“Representatives of the Interior Ministry, the Emergency Situations Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office arrived at the scene,” the statement continued.

Kazakh Defense Minister Dauren Kosanov was dispatched to Aktau, according to the ministry’s press office.

On Tuesday, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry announced the launch of military exercises titled “Caspian Sea Defense 2026” in the Kazakh section of the Caspian Sea, which is also bordered by Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan.

According to the ministry, more than 500 members of the Kazakh Navy are participating in the exercises alongside coast guard and air force units.