British troops' bodies flown home

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British troops' bodies flown home

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The bodies of six soldiers killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan are repatriated to Britain.

21 March,2012 08:37 am

Hundreds turned out to pay tribute to the six soldiers killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan as their bodies were repatriated to Britain.A private service to honour the soldiers, who died while on patrol two weeks ago, was being held at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.The coffins of 33-year-old Sergeant Nigel Coupe, 20-year-old Corporal Jake Hartley, 20-year-old Privates Anthony Frampton, 19-year-old Christopher Kershaw, 20-year-old Daniel Wade and 21-year-old Daniel Wilford were carried off a Royal Air Force plane by fellow soldiers and placed inside hearses.More than 2,000 well-wishers and fellow servicemen lined the streets in Carterton as the convoy of hearses bearing the mens coffins paused at a memorial garden near RAF Brize Norton.A party of Royal British Legion standard bearers from various regimental associations paid their respects to the soldiers by flying a Union Flag at half-mast.Relatives of the soldiers placed dozens of red and white roses and carnations on top of the vehicles and comforted each other, before sending off the hearses with a round of applause.The soldiers were killed near the border between Helmand and Kandahar provinces on March 6 while patrolling in a Warrior armoured vehicle when it was hit by an improvised explosive device.Their deaths took British armed forces total number of deaths since operations began in Afghanistan to 404.