Canadian Forces investigating after soldier dies while parachuting in Bulgaria
OTTAWA — The Canadian Forces were searching for answers Tuesday after an Ontario-based soldier was killed during a parachute-training exercise in Bulgaria.
Bombardier Patrick Labrie, a soldier based out of CFB Petawawa, was confirmed by the Defence Department as having died from injuries sustained on Monday evening near the Bulgarian village of Cheshnegirovo.
A six-year veteran of the Forces originally from Buckingham, Que., Labrie had recently returned from a deployment in Latvia and was in Bulgaria with a larger group of Canadians for the U.S.-led exercise known as Swift Response.
Labrie was a member of the 2nd Regiment of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and described by the unit’s commander, Lt.-Col. Dan Matheson, as a “proud gunner” who could “fill a room with his presence.”