Field hospital equipment being flown out to Kuwait

Planeloads of medical equipment and supplies are being flown to Kuwait City in preparation of the setting up of a Czech field hospital in Basra, southern Iraq. The defense ministry's press department said the operation was running smoothly and the equipment and medical supplies would be stored in Kuwait City until a suitable site for the field hospital had been found in Basra. Most of the hospital staff have already arrived in Kuwait. The Czech field hospital, which will have two operating theatres and a capacity of 50 beds, should serve the civilian population in and around Basra. It has been sent to Iraq on a humanitarian mission and is not part of the military operation underway in the country.