Body of 130th soldier killed in Afghanistan comes home

The body of Pte. Patrick Lormand, the 130th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan, returned to Canadian soil on Wednesday in an emotional ceremony at a Canadian military base.

Soldiers, family members and government officials were on hand at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario as a flag-draped coffin carrying Lormand was unloaded from a military plane.

Lormand, 21, of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment based near Quebec City, was killed and four others were injured in a roadside blast from an improvised explosive device on Sunday afternoon.

The soldiers were patrolling in the volatile Panjwaii district, where two other soldiers were killed just a week ago.

The armoured vehicle that Lormand was riding in struck the device about 13 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city.

Family members holding flowers were in tears as soldiers loaded the flag-draped coffin carrying Lormand's body into a waiting hearse.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Governor-General Michaëlle Jean were among the dignitaries on hand at the ceremony.

The ceremony came on the same day as a funeral at Lormand's base in Valcartier, Que. for Maj. Yannick Pepin, who along with Cpl. Jean-François Drouin was killed on Sept. 6 by a roadside bomb while on patrol southwest of Kandahar.