Qld: Two injured soldiers return home from East Timor

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2000
Qld: Two injured soldiers return home from East Timor

BRISBANE, Dec 11 AAP - Two injured Australian soldiers returned home from East Timor today.

Private Stephen Hagan and Signalman Scott Shepherd flew into Brisbane International
Airport and were taken to Brisbane's Enoggera Army Hospital.

Pvt Hagan, 21, who was serving with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in East Timor,
was injured in a shooting accident at Batugade on Friday.

He was one of eight peacekeepers from the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment who
were cleaning their weapons when a rifle accidentally discharged at close range, shooting
him in the back.

Signalman Shepherd, from the 7th Signal Regiment in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, was
ambushed near Balibo on December 1 and shot in the leg.

His wife, Sonya, said she was thrilled to have him home.

"I'm very proud of my husband. He's always been a hero to us," she told ABC radio.

Both men were reported to be in a stable condition.

AAP jhm/jnb

KEYWORD: TIMOR SOLDIER (CARRIED EARLIER)

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.