Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who fell out of a palm tree and was later involved in a jet-ski crash while vacationing in Fiji, has been airlifted to a hospital in New Zealand, local media reported on Sunday.
”Earlier this week, Rolling Stone Keith Richards suffered a mild concussion while on holiday in Fiji,” Fran Curtis, a spokesperson for the veteran rock band, said in a statement. ”Following treatment locally and as a precautionary measure, he flew to a hospital accompanied by his wife, Patti, for observation.”
No further details on the 62-year-old rocker’s condition were immediately available.
According to New Zealand’s Sunday Star-Times, the palm-tree plunge left Richards with a serious headache, but he still had the energy to jump on a jet ski — and get into another accident.
The paper provided no details on the jet-ski crash, but quoted Suva Private hospital spokesperson Dr Uzzel Kanti Dhar as saying that Richards was admitted to the hospital, in the Fijian capital, last Thursday, the day of his fall from the coconut palm.
He was reportedly airlifted to Auckland’s Ascot hospital later that day, but duty manager Steve Kirby refused to confirm early on Sunday that Richards was a patient there, citing the hospital’s privacy policy.
Richards and his wife had been staying at the exclusive Wakaya Club resort, which occupies a small palm-fringed Fijian island, when the reported palm tree and jet-ski mishaps happened.
Salesi Finau of the resort said Richards and his wife recently stayed at the resort for about a week, but would not say when they left.
Finau also refused to comment on the reports that Richards had an accident. ”I am sorry, I do not have any comment on that,” he said.
The Rolling Stones played a concert in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 18 as part of their A Bigger Bang world tour.
According to the band’s website, the Stones’ next scheduled concert is at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, followed by 34 more dates across Europe. — Sapa-AP