A survivor from the sunken ship Leader L was recovering from a suspected fracture at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital yesterday.

The 39-year-old man was taken there on Saturday after he hobbled off the Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Iroquois at Hamilton's Number One Shed.

Lawyer for the ship's owners, Lenoninus Shipping, Kelvin Hastings-Smith said he did not know what the nature of his injuries were but explained: "He is expected to be released tomorrow.'' The man is one of 13 who were dropped off in Bermuda this weekend after being rescued in a major international operation, 400 miles off Bermuda.

Six bodies were recovered by the Canadian Navy and 18 were missing, presumed dead after the 776-foot ship sank last Thursday night.

Mr. Hastings-Smith said arrangements were being made by Government for "the men to be repatriated as soon as possible''.

"It's not an easy task to do because obviously all of their travel documents were lost when their ship sank.'' The rest of the men, ten Filipinos and two Indians, stayed at the Salvation Army's Emergency Housing Complex on Saturday night.

They were moved to White Sands Hotel when representatives of Greek firm Leoninus Shipping arrived in Bermuda on Saturday, along with a lawyer for their insurance company and a shipping official from Panama, where the vessel was registered.

The three lawyers will now join with Bermudian shipping officials in interviewing the survivors for their accounts of the tragedy.

The bodies will be formally identified tomorrow and autopsies will be performed by local pathologists so that a Coroner can write up a report to aid in the investigation.

Government Information Services spokeswoman, Valerie Pethen, said she hoped the survivors would be able to fly home "by the end of the week''.

In the meantime, they will enjoy the hospitality of the Bermuda Filipino Association and spend their free time at the Mariner's Club, run by the Bermuda Sailors Home.

The Salvation Army will continue to provide them with counselling if the need arises.

SHIPPING SHI HEALTH HTH