THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 1, 1994 TAG: 9409010532
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Three Cubans were seriously injured when a land mine exploded on the communist side of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base as 23 Cuban nationals attempted to enter the base through a security fence.
Marines guarding the base quickly cut a hole in the fence and rescued the injured, evacuating them by helicopter to the base hospital.
One Cuban lost his leg, another suffered fragment wounds to the face and the third received wounds to the body and chest, the Navy said.
All three were listed in serious condition Wednesday night and one was being flown to a hospital in Miami.
The accident occurred about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday as the 23 Cubans walked across the Cuban border to Guantanamo Bay.
``When they reached the fence line, the Marine security personnel directed them to return to Cuba per their standing guard orders,'' said a Navy statement released by the Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk.
The approaches to the fence are mined on the communist side, but a marked path is normally used to allow authorized Cubans to pass into the naval station.
As the Cubans returned through the minefield, one of them stepped on a mine.
The uninjured Cubans were allowed to enter the base, officials said. Approximately 537 Cubans have taken rafts directly into the naval station. Another 41 have walked to the base and 55 swam there.
KEYWORDS: CUBA REFUGEES EXPLOSION INJURIES by CNB