Doctors treating Mr John Hume in the Austrian town of Kufstein said yesterday that the SDLP leader was doing well after a four-hour stomach operation.
Mr Hume was taken ill on Sunday during an EU conference in the Alpine town of Altbach and was rushed to a hospital in nearby Kufstein. "Mr Hume underwent an operation on his large intestine during the night. It lasted three or four hours and he came through it well. Given the circumstances, he is in a good condition," Dr Wilhelm Furtwangler, the doctor who performed the operation, told The Irish Times.
The MP, MEP and Nobel Peace Prize winner remains in intensive care. Mr Hume's wife is with him in Kufstein, a small town near Salzburg. Two of his children flew
to Austria to join their mother at his bedside - Dr Aine Abbott, a general practitioner in Derry, and Mr John Og Hume, who works in Brussels. The Mayor of Derry, SDLP Councillor Pat Ramsey, a close friend of the family, said Mr Hume had been unwell for several weeks. "It was of concern to him and to his wife Pat. We all know of the pressures John has been under for quite some time now and our thoughts and our prayers are with him and his family," Mr Ramsey said.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has expressed her regret at Mr Hume's illness. She said: "I was very sorry to hear of John's sudden illness. We don't yet know the full extent of his illness, but our thoughts are with Pat and his family at this time. I wish him a speedy recovery."