Twelve British soldiers were injured in a major traffic pile-up in Estonia, close to the border with Russia, local media have reported.

Eight of the troops - part of a major NATO mission to deter Russian aggression - were airlifted back to the UK for hospital treatment on Sunday after the incident, which happened in snowy conditions on Friday, it is understood.

Five of these personnel have since been discharged with three still being kept in the military wing of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

The crash happened at an intersection at around 5pm on Friday when the troops were travelling in three minibuses back to their base at Tapa.

Two civilian cars, driven by Estonians, are thought to have collided, triggering a chain reaction, with four other vehicles - comprising the three army Toyota minibuses and a third civilian car - piling into each other.

According to local media reports, the cars that initially collided were a Volvo S80, driven by a 37-year-old woman and a BMW 530D, driven by a 62-year-old woman.

The Estonian Postimees news site reported that 12 British soldiers were injured as well as five civilians. They were all taken to hospital by ambulance.

The British troops are serving in Estonia as part of Operation Cabrit, the UK's contribution to NATO's "enhanced forward presence" mission, which spans nations across the alliance's eastern flank and is designed to deter attacks from Russia.

Around 900 British troops are deployed in Estonia, including a unit of Challenger 2 tanks.

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A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: "Several British soldiers deployed on Operation CABRIT in Estonia were injured in a road traffic incident last Friday, 22nd November.

"Following hospital treatment in Estonia, eight personnel were flown back to the UK on an RAF C-17 for further treatment.

"Five have since been discharged and three are being cared for at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. We wish them all a speedy recovery."

(c) Sky News 2024: Twelve British soldiers injured in major traffic pile-up in Estonia - local media