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Secretary of State John Kerry Flown to Swiss Hospital After Bike Crash Secretary of State John Kerry Cuts Europe Trip Short After Bike Crash
(about 1 hour later)
GENEVA — Secretary of State John Kerry suffered an accident while bicycling on Saturday and has been transported to a hospital here. GENEVA — Secretary of State John Kerry has cut short his trip to Europe after suffering an accident while bicycling on Saturday and is returning to Boston for medical care.
Mr. Kerry was described as being in stable condition and has not lost consciousness. The State Department provided no additional details. The State Department said that Mr. Kerry, 71, had suffered a broken leg when his bike struck a curb while cycling near Scionzier, France. He was transported to a hospital in Geneva and never lost consciousness.
“Secretary Kerry suffered an accident while bicycling near Scionzier, France,” John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, said in a statement. “Paramedics and a physician were on the scene with the Secretary’s motorcade at the time of the accident. Mr. Kerry had been scheduled to fly to Madrid this afternoon for an official visit there. He was then set to travel to Paris for a meeting on Tuesday of foreign ministers from the coalition the United States has assembled to confront the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
“The Secretary was transported via medical helicopter to Hospital University Geneva, where he is currently being evaluated,” he added. “Secretary Kerry is stable and likely suffered a leg injury. He did not lose consciousness.” Those travel plans have been canceled, but Mr. Kerry plans to participate in the Paris event remotely by a videoconference.
Mr. Kerry is an avid cycler and rode his bike during breaks in the Iran talks in Lausanne earlier this year. He held a round of nuclear talks here with the Iranians on Saturday. Mr. Kerry has kept a grueling pace as the United States’ chief diplomat. According to the State Department, he has visited 63 countries and traveled for 356 days since becoming secretary of state.
Details of the incident were sketchy. According to an initial report from an American official, the accident was believed to have occurred about a 45-minute drive from Geneva. Mr. Kerry was described as having hit a curb and the injury was said to be to his right leg. Mr. Kerry met here for six hours on Saturday with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. His principal goal now is to conclude an accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program by a June 30 deadline.
Mr. Kerry had been scheduled to fly to Madrid this afternoon for an official visit there. He was then set to travel to Paris for a Tuesday meeting of foreign ministers from the coalition the United States has assembled to confront the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. “Secretary Kerry broke his right femur in a bicycling accident this morning in Scionzier, France,” John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, said in a statement. “Given the injury is near the site of his prior hip surgery, he will return to Boston today to seek treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital with his doctor who did the prior surgery.”
The State Department has not yet announced if Mr. Kerry will cancel that schedule. The statement added that Mr. Kerry was in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery.
Mr. Kerry has kept a grueling pace as the United States’s chief diplomat. According to the State Department, he has visited 63 countries and travelled for 356 days since becoming secretary of state. His principal goal now is to conclude an accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program by a June 30 deadline. “The Secretary very much regrets not being able to visit Spain to meet with one of our close allies for discussions on a range of issues, as well as being unable to attend the counter-ISIL coalition ministerial meeting on Tuesday in Paris in person,” the statement said.