Online NewsHour: Belgrade Hospital Bombed -- May 20, 1999



	BELGRADE HOSPITAL BOMBED

May 20, 1999

On the heaviest night of bombing on the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade since the strike on the Chinese embassy, one of NATO's strikes went awry and hit a local hospital.

--Posted 10:40am EDT

Strikes in Yugoslavia coverage
May 10, 1999:
The Chinese Ambassador to US

May 10, 1999:
Fallout from the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade

May 7, 1999:
Secretary Albright

May 6, 1999:
Assessing the G-8 peace proposal

May 4, 1999:
Are NATO strikes against Serb media outlets justified?

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According to media reports, the strike killed three and wounded dozens, including two women in labor. The bombed also reportedly destroyed one of the hospitals operating rooms.

Hospital director Milovan Bojic, a Serbian deputy premier and Milosevic's political ally, called the attack "a savagery."

NATO officials did confirm one strike had gone astray during last night's attack.

"One laser-guided bomb failed to guide correctly and we can confirm that it struck the base of a building about 1,500 feet from the center of the target area," NATO spokesman Jamie Shea told reporters. "We believe there should be great care to avoid tragic errors that would increase the sense of unease and incomprehension" of the public in NATO countries, he added.

Shea said it had struck another building, but would not confirm whether it was the hospital.

In Belgrade, hospital employees told Serb-controlled media how they reacted to attack.

"We managed to evacuate the babies -- around 20 of them -- and we took the women to the basement. Everything has been destroyed," an unidentified nurse told Belgrade radio.

According to independent media reports, the strike also damaged the residence of the Swedish ambassador, located some 200 yards from the hospital. The blast knocked out windows and blew the main door off, the independent Beta news agency reported.

Beta News also quoted a spokesman for the Swedish Foreign Ministry in Stockholm as saying no one was injured. In Stockholm, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said was "unacceptable" and she would seek an explanation from the alliance.

The accidental bombing comes less than two weeks after NATO had mistakenly targeted and bombed the Chinese embassy in downtown Belgrade. That strike killed three Chinese nationals and left 20 more wounded.