British take wounded to Uruguayan capital

Press, 7 June 1982, Page 6

British take wounded to Uruguayan capital

NZPA Montevideo The British hospital ship Hydra will arrive at Montevideo today with 51 British soldiers wounded in the Falkland Islands. A British Embassy’ spokesman in the Uruguayan capital said that a Royal Air Force VCIO jet would take most of the wounded back to Britain. “There is just a possibility that one or two men might have to stay in Montevideo,” the spokesman said. These men had serious head injuries and might have to be admitted to the British Hospital in Montevideo. The spokesman said that about two-thirds of the casualties on the converted oceanographic survey ship were walking wounded. Some of the other stretcher cases were very seriously ill. Another British hospital

ship, the Hecla, took 18 British wounded and 24 Argentine prisoners to Montevideo on Thursday. The embassy spokesman said also that negotiations for the return of about 1000 Argentinians being held on the British support vessel Norland appeared to have run into difficulties. He declined to say what specific difficulties" had arisen but said that Britain was negotiating with the. Red Cross and Argentine authorities for the prisoners to be taken by sea either’ to Montevideo or Ascension Island. Uruguay has become a centre for the exchange of prisoners between Britain and Argentina and a transit point for moving troops wounded in the conflict.. The Uruguayan Government has adopted a neutral stance in the Falklands

crisis, although it publiclysupported Argentina's claim to the islands.

In London, the British Ministry of Defence said that wounded Argentine servicemen had been transferred from the hospital ' ship Uganda to an Argentine hospital ship off the coast of East Falkland. Most of the wounded were transferred from the Uganda by helicopter over four hours, and the weather was said to be bad.

Some of the Argentine servicemen had serious injuries. The Argentine hospital ship, the Bahia Paraiso, later left the area for Fox Bay to pick up other injured Argentine troops. The transfer took place 48km off the north coast of East Falkland in an area set aside by the Red Cross for hospital ships.