Two Australian soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been wounded, one seriously, as their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) on a road in the southern Oruzgan province.
A third Australian soldier suffered slight injuries when a rescue helicopter was involved in a "hard landing" at the explosion scene on Monday, defence authorities said.
The two wounded Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) soldiers were travelling in a Bushmaster troop carrier when the explosive device detonated on Monday morning, Defence spokesman Brigadier Brian Dawson said in a statement.
One soldier was seriously wounded while the other suffered "light" wounds.
The injuries were not life-threatening, Brigadier Dawson said.
"The soldiers were provided with combat first aid by other members of the SOTG to stabilise their condition and the area surrounding the blast site was secured in preparation for a helicopter casualty evacuation," he said.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) medevac helicopter damaged in the hard landing could not complete the rescue, Brigadier Dawson said.
A standby medevac helicopter, based in Kandahar, could not take off because of bad weather.
A third craft, re-tasked from other duties, carried the injured three to an ISAF medical centre for treatment.
Troops secured the damaged helicopter until it was lifted from the scene by an ISAF CH-47 Chinook.
The damaged Bushmaster was taken to Tarin Kowt.
There was no indication the damaged helicopter was attacked by the Taliban, Brigadier Dawson said.
Relatives of the three soldiers have been advised of their conditions, he said.