Havana — Cuban President Fidel Castro tripped on a step and tumbled to the ground after leaving the stage at a graduation ceremony, fracturing a knee and arm but quickly returning to say that he was “all in one piece.”
Mr. Castro, 78, fell after a Wednesday night speech in the central city of Santa Clara.
A medical examination early Thursday confirmed that Mr. Castro suffered a broken left knee and a hairline fracture in his upper right arm, according to an official notice read early Thursday on state television. Mr. Castro asked that the note be made public, the statement said.
Exclusive Associated Press Television News footage of the incident showed Mr. Castro tripping on a concrete step after he finished walking down the stairs from the stage. He fell onto the ground on his right side into the first line of chairs, banging his knee, hip, elbow and arm on the way down, as spectators looked on in surprise.
Cuban President Fidel Castro is helped by bodyguards after falling at the end of a speech on Wednesday. (Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images)
He was immediately surrounded by security agents and others who rushed to help him up.
His speech before the graduation ceremony for arts instructors was broadcast live on state-run television, but viewers could not see his fall. All that was visible was several of his security men running off to the side, evidently to assist him.
Less than a minute later, Mr. Castro appeared live on state TV to explain what happened to viewers across the island of 11.2 million people.
He said he felt like he had broken his knee and perhaps his arm – “but I am all in one piece.”
“I will do what is possible to recover as fast as possible, but as you can see I can still talk,” he said. “Even if they put me in a cast, I can continue in my work.”
The note aired Thursday morning said Mr. Castro's "general health is good, and [he] is in excellent spirits. He asked for calm, considering that very soon he will be back in place.”
Mr. Castro was earlier seen leaving Santa Clara, about a three-hour drive east of Havana, in his regular black Mercedes Benz sedan.
As he has grown older, Castro's knees have seemed more wobbly, his step less steady. Nevertheless, he maintains a busy schedule that frequently includes all-night meetings with aides and visitors.
Mr. Castro's health has long been closely watched – particularly by his political enemies in Miami, home to a large Cuban exile community.
When he returned after the fall, Mr. Castro noted the presence of international photographers and television camera crews at the event.
“The international press has captured it and surely tomorrow it will be on the front pages of the newspapers.”
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