Cuban President Fidel Castro has injured one of his knees and possibly an arm when he fell as he returned to his seat after making a speech at a graduation ceremony in central Cuba.
Castro (78) as picked up by bodyguards who helped him into a chair after the fall at the graduation ceremony yesterday for art instructors in Santa Clara.
The Cuban president asked for a microphone and told the crowd of about 30,000 people, some of whom broke into tears when he fell, that there was no cause for alarm.
"Dear graduates and other guests, I ask your forgiveness for having fallen. To prevent speculation, I observe I have a fracture in the knee and maybe in an arm too, I'm not sure yet" he said.
"I will recover as soon as possible, but as you can see, I can speak even if they put me in plaster and I can continue my work."
Castro tripped suddenly after making the speech on the steps of the mausoleum which holds the remains of fellow-revolutionary Che Guevara.
Castro said he wanted no sadness and told organisrs to continue the musical show, receiving a standing ovation and cries of "Viva Fidel." He joked that the picture of his fall would be on front pages of the world's newspapers the next day.