Fallujah wounded arrive in Europe
From correspondents in Frankfurt, Germany
11nov04

A STEADY stream of wounded from Iraq, mostly from fighting in Fallujah, has begun arriving at the US military's main hospital in Europe, an official said tonight.

Two planeloads with around 90 wounded who could not be treated in Iraq were expected later at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre, said spokeswoman Marie Shaw.
"We are very busy," Ms Shaw said. "We have seen an increase of patient arrival since the outbreak of the Fallujah conflict."

She said 38 injured soldiers arrived on Monday, 23 more on Tuesday, and 64 on yesterday.

Ms Shaw said the hospital was expanding capacity to cope with the additional numbers of patients. "We have expanded our intensive care unit here with about 10 more beds, and we have expanded our medical surgical wards with about 40 more beds," she said.









Including the expansion, the hospital, the largest US military medical facility outside the US, now has 27 intensive care beds.

Landstuhl has long been a destination for wounded from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is normally equipped with 162 beds, the hospital's website says, with an expansion capability of up to 310 beds.

The centre also provides specialized care for the more than 250,000 additional American military personnel and their families based in Europe.

All the wounded who have come so far from Fallujah are US soldiers, although Americans are fighting alongside Iraqi forces in Fallujah.



Herald Sun: Fallujah wounded arrive in Europe [11nov04]