Rafael Corra, Equador’s president, has been rescued by soldiers from a hospital in the country’s capital, Quito, where he had been trapped for several hours.
Uprisings by police protesting a new law cutting benefits for public servants had trapped the president inside the hospital, where he was being treated for a tear gas attack, which took place when he went to a regimental barracks to try to negotiate with protesters.
The BBC reports that the president was smuggled out of the hospital in a wheelchair as a gunbattle took place between between troops and police.
The commander of Equador’s police force has resigned, it has been reported this morning.
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