Airport reopened early Sunday to allow Defence Force to evacuate two persons seriously injured in Barbuda accident

While the Police and Emergency Medical Services were attending a
fatal road accident early Sunday morning, August 13, the Defence
Force’s Air Wings Alpha 1 had to be deployed to Barbuda at around
the same time to evacuate two persons who were injured in a
serious accident on the sister-island.

The pair are currently warded in the Intensive Care Unit at the Sir
Lester Bird Medical Centre, hospital sources have confirmed.
However, the sources claim there was confusion when they arrived
at the institution. This, reportedly, was because the hospital had not
been notified of the Barbuda emergency ahead of time, and medical

personnel had been preparing for casualties from the other accident
on the American Road.

But the hospital staff rallied and were able to handle both
emergencies, the sources add.

REAL News was surprised to learn that the authorities at the
medical centre had not been notified, given that management at the
V.C. Bird International had had to reopen the airport to allow the
Defence Force to make the flight – flown by Major Alando Michael –
into and out of Barbuda.

According to reports from the sister-island, following a fishing
tournament held there on Saturday, August 12, there had been a
party.

On the way back, it is alleged that the bus in which the merrymakers
were traveling got into an accident, from which there were several
casualties, with the two most seriously injured victims having to be
flown out to the mainland.

Up to press time on Monday afternoon, however, REAL News had
not been able to ascertain the condition of these persons, and their
identities had not been revealed.