A former Queenstown man serving in the Australian Army in Afghanistan has lost both legs after an explosive device blew up.
Curtis McGrath, 24, who attended Wakatipu High School, was one of four soldiers injured in the explosion which happened in the Uruzgan province last week, the Southland Times reports.
All four soldiers have been flown to a hospital in Germany for treatment.
Mr McGrath is reportedly serving as a combat engineer and grew up in Queenstown before moving to Australia to join the army.
A friend of Mr McGrath's told the Southland Times: "It's a miracle he's alive" and said his family had flown to Germany to be with him.
The incident happened in the same week three New Zealand soldiers were farewelled at an emotional service in Christchurch. The trio were killed in the Bamiyan Province when a roadside bomb went off under their Humvee.
Two other New Zealand soldiers were also killed in Bamiyan earlier this month when they were shot by Afghan insurgents.
NZN