LADYVILLE, Fri. Nov. 30, 2018– Fidel Williams, 25, a soldier of the Belize Defence Force who lost an eye when the bridge at the Forward Operating Base at the Sarstoon River caved in with him, and his eye hit a spike that was protruding from a post on the wharf, has been taken to Merida, Mexico, where he will be fitted with a prosthetic eye at the Clinica Merida Hospital today. Williams’ damaged eye was removed at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital last week.

After the incident at the Sarstoon, Williams was flown immediately to Belize City and rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he was admitted in a critical condition.

Officials of the Belize Defence Force said that the ophthalmologist at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital removed Williams’ eye and kept him under observation, after which he was taken to the Belize Defence Force Hospital in Price Barracks. Later, he was taken abroad for further treatment. Officials of the Belize Defence Force said that Private Williams will continue to serve as a soldier, and that there are provisions from the Force Benevolent Funds for him to be compensated for the loss of his eye.