Australia's Defence Department is investigating reports that the evacuation of a fatally wounded New Zealand-born soldier was delayed for up to two hours because the US military refused to let a helicopter take off.
The Australian quotes emails from Royal Netherlands Army doctor Ed van der Zee saying Signaller Sean McCarthy, who was serving in the Australian SAS, did not reach hospital until two hours after the roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan on 8 July.
The newspaper says that Dr van der Zee, who was on standby at the hospital at the nearby Tarin Kowt base, said the evacuation would normally take 10 to 20 minutes. Signaller McCarthy bled to death before he could be evacuated.
Dr van der Zee's emails say US commanders refused to let the medical evacuation chopper take off until an Apache gunship could be provided for escort duties.
At the time of the incident, Defence Chief, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said Signaller McCarthy had been evacuated immediately.
The Defence Department has released a statement confirming that an inquiry into the evacuation is under way.
A spokesman for Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says he is aware of the allegations and is eagerly awaiting the result of the Defence inquiry.
But Neil James of the Australian Defence Association says the medivac helicopter's take-off could have been delayed for sound tactical reasons.
"As tragic as it is, there's no point risking the lives of people in the medivac chopper, having them shot down and killed too, attempting to rescue a wounded soldier, where you can't guarantee the safety of the medivac chopper," he told the ABC.
"Common sense tells you that, as tragic as it is to lose a soldier, it's even more tragic to lose half-a-dozen more."
