Media Release

8 August 2012
Incident in Bamyan Province Afghanistan – Release 5

Information about the six New Zealand Defence Force servicemen who were wounded in Afghanistan on Saturday has been released by the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Rhys Jones.

“You will appreciate that these personnel are entitled to privacy. I can tell you however that the six wounded servicemen were initially treated in Afghanistan and subsequently five have been moved to Landstuhl Regional Military Centre (LRMC) in Germany for further treatment,” says LT GEN Jones.

“The sixth soldier sustained very serious gun shot wounds to the abdomen and has remained in Afghanistan receiving medical treatment. His condition, while serious, has been described as stable. A German surgical team is caring for him at Mazar i Sharif Medical Treatment Facility with the possibility of transferring him to the hospital at Bagram Air Base and then on to LRMC in Germany. He is conscious, alert and in good spirits.

“Of the others already in Germany: one soldier has had chest surgery at Homburg University Hospital and will be transferred back to Landstuhl Hospital as soon as possible. Another will have surgery today to repair a fractured femur; while one soldier is mobile on crutches but still in the hospital ward. Two soldiers who each received shrapnel wounds have already been discharged from the hospital and are in accommodation on base.

“We wish them all a speedy recovery,” says LT GEN Jones.

Recent information from the NZ Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan confirms that none of the wounded servicemen were shot in the neck despite initial reports suggesting otherwise.
ENDS

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