MARINE Wayne Gately, 26, has spoken of his lucky escape during 40 Commando’s time in the Sangin area of Helmand Province.
He was just millimetres away from walking through a trip wire that would have set off an Improvised Explosive Device.
Marine Gately and his unit were out a morning patrol in the southern Green Zone moving through several tree lines.
As they stepped onto a field of crops, a farmer came and guided them around his field on a path he knew to be safe from roadside bombs.
They then moved through the neighbouring field of wheat and approached a compound, with Marine Gately in the lead.
He then became entangled in a tripwire from an IED and needed a colleague to pull him free.
Marine Gately said: “I had about a minute or so just to come to terms with what could have happened.
“I moved to the back of the patrol and sat there for a couple of minutes to get my breath back.
“The moment I saw I was tangled up in the wire, my heart stopped. It was the longest two minutes of my life. Whiskey (his colleague) definitely saved my life that day.”
Share