MONROVIA, Liberia
The inauguration ceremony for President Joseph Boakai ended abruptly after an apparent case of heat exhaustion while delivering his inaugural address.
Boakai, 79, had been speaking
for around 30 minutes at his inauguration ceremony when it became clear that he
was having difficulty continuing.
He failed twice to carry on
speaking, and the ceremony was adjourned.
Some reports suggested that he
suffered from heat exhaustion as the temperature reached more than 30C.
Video footage showed a man
fanning papers near Mr Boakai's face, before he was taken away.
Dressed in traditional country
cloth attire over a bullet-proof vest, President Boakai began to show signs of
uneasiness reportedly due to the high temperature.
Prompt action was taken as
security officers assisted him to a seated position and fanned him to help him
cool off.
Once revived, he attempted to
complete the speech while seated. Despite the unexpected interruptions, sources
have confirmed that President Boakai is in good condition.
However, due to the incident,
the inauguration ceremony could not be resumed as Presidential security had to
escort Boakai from the Capitol.
Immediately after the
President retired from the event, other Dignitaries began taking their leave.
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