ABC News Anchor Bob Woodruff Seriously Injured In Iraq

[MrsSpringsteen]

A cameraman was also seriously injured

By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press Writer 2 minutes ago

ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and a cameraman were seriously injured Sunday in an explosion while reporting from Iraq, the network said Sunday.

Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were hit by an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq, and were in serious condition at a U.S. military hospital, ABC News President David Westin said.

The two were embedded with the 4th Infantry Division and traveling with an Iraqi Army unit.

The U.S. military headquarters in Baghdad confirmed that the ABC News team was involved in an attack but declined to provide further details to The Associated Press. An official military statement was expected to be issued later Sunday.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

he is undergoing surgery



Both men suffered head injuries. Woodruff sustained shrapnel wounds and Vogt was hit by shrapnel in the head and suffered a broken shoulder.

Both were wearing body armor, helmets and ballistic glasses. They had been traveling in a U.S. armored humvee, but then transferred into the Iraqi vehicle. Vogt and Woodruff are embedded with the 4th Infantry Division.

The men were medevaced to the Green Zone to receive treatment. They were then flown by helicopter to Balad which is about a 20-minute ride from Baghdad, said ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz.

"There are very good doctors, the best medical care you can possibly get, in Balad," said Raddatz.

Woodruff has been on assignment in Iraq and planned to broadcast from the war-torn country this week for the State of the Union address.

The father of four children, he was one of the first reporters in Pakistan following the Sept. 11 attacks.

the cameraman

Vogt, the father of three daughters, was sitting next to ABC News producer David Kaplan when the producer was shot and killed in Bosnia, and has considerable experience documenting war.

Earlier this month, Vogt, who has been with ABC News for more than 15 years, was with Woodruff in Iran. He was recently in another convoy in which someone was killed by an IED.

"They've covered all the wars, the hot spots," said ABC New's Jim Sciutto, who is covering the war in Iraq. "The best we have with Doug. He's the cameraman we all request when we go to the field because he's so good, a fantastic eye. He's won so many awards for ABC."

 

[najeena]

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer 26 minutes ago

Surgeons removed shrapnel from ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff's head and neck, a family friend said Monday, and a hospital official said body armor likely saved the journalist's life.

Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were seriously injured when a roadside bomb exploded Sunday while they standing in the open hatch of an Iraqi military vehicle. They underwent surgery in Iraq, then were flown to a U.S. military base in Germany for further treatment.

"They're both very seriously injured, but stable," said Col. Bryan Gamble, commander of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in western Germany. He said both men were heavily sedated and under the care of the hospital's trauma team.

Their body armor likely saved them, "otherwise these would have been fatal wounds," Gamble said.

Woodruff, the new co-anchor of "World News Tonight," had serious head wounds and broken bones, and Vogt also suffered head injuries, ABC News said. The network said the mens' wives were at the hospital and talking with doctors Monday.

Former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw said Monday that he had spoken with Woodruff's wife, Lee, and said the family told him they had received "some encouraging news."

"The doctors had told them once they arrived that the brain swelling had gone down. In Bob's case, that had been a big concern. Yesterday they had to operate and remove part of the skull cap to relieve some of the swelling," Brokaw said on NBC'S "Today" show.

The family also learned some details about the explosion from people who were there, Brokaw said.

"Immediately after the explosion he turned to his producer and said 'Am I alive?' and 'Don't tell Lee,' and then he began to cry out in excruciating pain," Brokaw said.

He said the family told him doctors don't know for sure whether shrapnel penetrated Woodruff's brain but they were removing additional shrapnel from his neck area.

 

[Abomb-baby]

No offense to this post, but i find it just a little bit sickening that so much time and space has been devoted to this story. Don't get me wrong, I feel for them and there families, but come on. The only reason it is getting the attention is because they are members of the media. 11 marines die in one day and it barely makes news. Knowing what I know about the military and how they move people out of the AOR who are injured, these injuries were probably not as life threatening as reported. I believe they are already back in DC after being in Germany. I bet it will make for one hell of a book deal, though.

 

[verte76]

They are now in the U.S.

 

[Inner El Guapo]

No offense to this post, but i find it just a little bit sickening that so much time and space has been devoted to this story. Don't get me wrong, I feel for them and there families, but come on. The only reason it is getting the attention is because they are members of the media.

Agree 100%.

 

[bcrt2000]

the daily show really put this story in it's place... 30,000 iraqis have died (including citizens) since the start of the iraq war according to Bush