Kerry breaks leg in Alps cycling accident

Secretary of State John Kerry broke his right leg in an accident while cycling in the Alps near Scionzier, France, on Sunday and spent the night in a Swiss hospital.

He has canceled visits to Madrid and Paris. “The secretary had planned on flying back to the U.S. this evening, but after further consultation it was sensible for him to remain in the hospital for observation overnight for purely precautionary measures and fly home tomorrow,” spokesman John Kirby said Sunday. 

Kerry broke his right femur but the injury is not life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery, the spokesman said. He was taken to a Geneva hospital after being injured and was in stable condition.

The accident occurred while Kerry was out cycling the day after meetings with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Geneva to try to overcome obstacles in negotiations on curbing Tehran's nuclear program.

He was flown by medical helicopter from the scene of the accident to HUG, Geneva's main public hospital.

“He did not lose consciousness,” Kirby said, adding that paramedics and a doctor were on the scene with Kerry's motorcade at the time of the accident.

The 71-year-old secretary of state is an avid cyclist and often takes his bike on official trips abroad.

A senior State Department official said it appeared Kerry hit a curb and there was no vehicle involved in the accident.

He had been due to travel to Madrid later on Sunday before heading to Paris for a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and members of a U.S-supported coalition fighting the armed group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

Reuters