Canada's Minister of National Defence Rob Nicholson and Chief of the Defence Staff General Tom Lawson prepare to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial
Canada's Minister of National Defence Rob Nicholson (C) and Chief of the Defence Staff General Tom Lawson (R) prepare to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa October 23, 2014. A gunman attacked Canada's parliament on Wednesday, with gunfire erupting near a room where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was speaking, and a soldier was fatally shot at a nearby war memorial, jolting the Canadian capital. REUTERS/Blair Gable

A Canadian soldier was killed in a "freak accident" when he was doing a routine mechanical work. The 27-year-old was working on an armoured vehicle when the accident took place at Garrison Petawawa.

Craftsman Kyle Sinclair was working on "Coyote," the formal name of the armoured vehicle, he was in a building hangar the accident happened. According to the section commander, the accident was "very rare" and "freak" as there was no explosion. There was nothing which fell on the soldier either. There were other soldiers present around him. They, trained in CPR, tried helping immediately but they failed to regain a pulse. The soldier died later in a hospital last Friday night, CBC News reported.

The Globe And Mail reported that, according to Sinclair's mother Anna Loveman, the soldier died when one of the seats in the vehicle got unexpectedly ejected. The force of the ejected seat caused severe head trauma and eventually became the reason of Sinclair's death. The 2 Service Battalion member was on a training programme with The Royal Canadian Dragoons when the accident took place. Sinclair was a vehicle technician training with the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers Regiment as well, according to a DND spokesperson. Canadian Forces spokesman Lt. Jean-Francois Carpentier said that Sinclair had joined the military in 2012. There will be a private parade held on Monday to honour Sinclair.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson did not comment much on the death of the soldier as the matter was still being investigated. However, he called it a "tragic event." He earlier said by mistake that Sinclair had died last Thursday. Commander of the Canadian Army Lt.-Gen. Marquis Hainse issued a formal statement which said that the soldier had died moments before midnight while he was surrounded by friends and family. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in his statement last Saturday that the incident had thrown some light on the sacrifice of the uniformed people on a daily basis. "This incident is another painful reminder of the sacrifice that our brave men and women in uniform face daily in the defence of our nation's freedoms and liberties, both at home and abroad," the statement said.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au