NORFOLK - Thirty three injured sailors from the USS Cole returned to their home port in Virginia yesterday to a heroes' welcome from United States Navy officials and relatives.
The sailors, injured in an apparent suicide bombing that left their sophisticated guided-missile destroyer crippled in a Yemen port, arrived at the
Norfolk Naval Station for a tearful reunion with relatives after an eight-hour flight from Germany.
"Our heroes, we join hands 'n' hearts to welcome you home," read a red, white and blue banner hung from the control tower at the air field.
Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 injured in an apparent suicide bombing as the USS Cole began a refuelling stop on Thursday in Aden, on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula .
Greeted by Admiral Robert Natter, commander in chief of the US Atlantic Fleet as they left the plane, the sailors were taken in three medical buses and several ambulances to the nearby Naval Medical Centre in Portsmouth.
Several could be released as early as Monday, a base spokesman said.
Some of the injured sailors walked with the help of canes, while others had visible head injuries and cuts and bruises.
Others remained on stretchers or were helped into wheelchairs.
Six sailors with more serious injuries remained in a US Air Force hospital in Ramstein, Germany, where four of those sailors were released from intensive care on Sunday.
About 150 sailors from the Norfolk base and dozens of relatives were on hand for the reunion.
A memorial for the sailors killed in the explosion was being planned for Wednesday at the Norfolk base.
- REUTERS
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