Wounded ABC crew hospitalized in Germany

Original cnn.com link: Wounded ABC crew hospitalized in Germany

Anchor, cameraman suffered 'very significant' injuries in Iraq
Monday, January 30, 2006; Posted: 8:50 a.m. EST (13:50 GMT)

LANDSTUHL, Germany (CNN) -- ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman suffered "very significant injuries" but are in stable condition a day after they were wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the commander of the U.S. military hospital said Monday.

Woodruff, the 44-year-old co-anchor of "World News Tonight," and cameraman Doug Vogt, 46, arrived in Germany on Monday morning to receive treatment for wounds they suffered Sunday near Taji, Iraq, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

Col. Brian Gamble of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center said he could not give details on their injuries until doctors had consulted with their families.

"They are under the care of our trauma and critical care team that we have up there, undergoing further evaluation, consultation with specialty consultation," he said. "... the next few days and weeks really will be important to determine how they do."

Landstuhl is the largest U.S. military hospital outside the United States, but Gamble said the goal was to send Woodruff and Vogt to a medical facility in the United States.

Both journalists were listed in serious but stable condition Sunday after both sustained head injuries, the network said. Woodruff also suffered shrapnel injuries to his body, and Vogt has a broken shoulder, ABC said.

ABC News producer Kate Felsen said she spoke with both men. "Doug was conscious, and I was able to reassure him that I was getting them care," she said. "I spoke to Bob, also."

The two men had been embedded with the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division. At the time of the blast, they were traveling with U.S. and Iraqi security forces in the lead of an eight-vehicle convoy of U.S. armored Humvees, ABC said.

The network said the men -- wearing helmets and body armor -- were standing, videotaping a log of their trip, in the rear hatch of the vehicle when the bomb was detonated, apparently by a hard-wire connection. The blast was followed by small-arms fire from three directions, ABC said.

An Iraqi soldier was also wounded in the attack, Iraqi officials said.

Within 37 minutes of the attack, the men had been taken by helicopter to a combat-support hospital in the capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, the network said. (Watch the challenges of treating wounded at military hospital -- 3:29)

There, doctors determined the men needed surgery, and they were taken -- again by helicopter -- 50 miles north of Baghdad to the U.S. military hospital in Balad. The hospital is the most technologically advanced in Iraq.

Experienced journalists

Last month, Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas were named to replace the late Peter Jennings as "World News Tonight" anchors. They started the job this month. Vargas anchored the news Sunday night. (Full story)

Woodruff, an attorney and former law professor, began his career in journalism as a translator for CBS News in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he was embedded with Marines on the front lines.

Vogt has been with ABC News for 15 years and has covered global hot spots from Bosnia to Gaza to Iran.

Both men were experienced in war zones, ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz said.

The White House has offered to help "in any way we can," spokesman Trent Duffy said.

"It is terrible news, and we are praying for full and speedy recovery," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to them."

Reporting from the Iraqi war zone is a dangerous proposition. According to Reporters Without Borders, 79 journalists and assistants have been killed in Iraq since the United States invaded in March 2003. Two CNN employees -- translator Duraid Mohammad and driver Yasser Khatib -- were killed two years ago.

CNN's Chris Burns contributed to this report.